Breakaway
by SapphireEJ
Summary: Alternate, deleted and additional scenes leading to Puckleberry being endgame by the end of season 3. Parallels with my LJ Lark series. Slightly AU after the end of '3x11 - Michael'. Posted in honor of Puckleberry Week. For fic table prompt #31 - Space.
1. Part 1: '3x11 Michael' to '3x13 Heart'

Title: Breakaway, Part 1/?

**Spoilers:** This part to '3x13 - Heart'; whole series will be through the Glee season 3 finale.

Disclaimer1: I don't own Glee, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N1: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

Disclaimer2: Title from one of my favorite Kelly Clarkson songs 'Breakaway'. Just borrowing. I don't own!

A/N3: Posting in honor of 'Puckleberry Week' on Tumblr. 'Deleted Scenes' is the theme for the first day, 4/23/2012, so I thought this fit into that category... Sorry it's a bit late!

...

A/N4: I'll detail it more below the fic, but for the moment I'll say this is going to be nothing like I've done before, so please be gentle... Normally, I refuse to associate with anything after season 1 of Glee (except Sam), but for this I'm making an exception. This fic will parallel with my Lark series, that I only post on my LJ and will span from the end of '3x11 - Michael' to the end of season 3. You don't need to read my Lark series to understand it. When reading, understand this takes out ALL of the Finn/Rachel relationship things: the proposal, the almost-wedding and anything involving them as a couple. It will also change some of the Puck scenes, his comments or things he does, and this will all twist the episodes into a Puckleberry friendship; eventually becoming an endgame Puckleberry relationship by the end of the season. Below, you'll find each episode listed and under them will be one to several scenes that can be added into the show... Some are 'alternate' scenes, where you'll recognize what the scene is from one we saw in the show, but the wording will be slightly different and other scenes will be 'deleted', 'additional' or 'what should have been' scenes, as in, if this was the shows plan all along, some of these would be scenes that were cut out.

Disclaimer3: Any familiar lines from the episode listed have been underlined... Just borrowing them! I don't own!

...

**3x11 - Michael**

...

As Finn began to sing 'I Just Can't Stop Loving You' by the Jackson 5, Rachel listened to the first few words, but her heart just wasn't into listening to him singing about that. She didn't feel the same, so she reached out and rested her hand on his and waved at the band to stop, "Finn, I... We need to talk," she admitted.

"Rachel, what's going on?" Finn asked, now embarrassed as he stood next to the piano in the choir room.

Rachel had been thinking about what she wanted to tell him for a while and glanced at the floor briefly, gathering her thoughts and turned her gaze on him, "Finn, I'll always care about you," she started and could already see he was getting the hint, "but we're not ready and we're way too young to get married. We don't really love each other, not like a real couple should when talking about getting married. We love the idea of having someone special, but it would be a mistake for us to believe our relationship is going to last after high school. When we got back together after Nationals last year, I told you I was going to New York after school without any ties and I meant it. We're going in two different directions and both of us would miss so many opportunities if we got married right now and I, for one, don't want to jeopardize my future because of it," she took a calming breath, and tried to ignore the hurt look on Finn's face as she continued, "you're going to make someone very happy one day, but it's not going to be me. I just think it's best we end things now, before they get any further along. I'm sorry Finn, but my answer is 'no'."

Finn's shook his head, "so that's it? You're just gonna end it. You can't be serious!" He snapped, glaring at her, "you're just gonna totally walk away without even caring about my feelings?"

Rachel took a deep breath and nodded, "yes I am, Finn, because I know I'm doing the right thing. You may not understand it right now, but you will," she said, turning around and walking out of the choir room with her head held high; she knew she did the right thing.

...

**3x12 - The Spanish Teacher**

...

"Quinn," Rachel called out, catching the blond's attention in the hallway.

Quinn turned from her locker and saw the brunette and her eyes couldn't help drifting to her left hand, noticing it free of jewelery, "hey Rachel."

Rachel saw her gaze had turned to her hand and she wiggled her fingers, "I want to thank you for your advice. You were right and I'm glad you snapped me out of the daze I was in. I said 'no'."

"You're welcome and I'm glad you took my advice. You've got a bright future ahead of you and I'd hate for him to hold you back," Quinn told her honestly.

"Thank you," Rachel smiled at her, "so, um, I know we haven't been like best friends or anything, but Yale isn't that far from NYADA. I was thinking maybe we could visit each other when we're in school sometime."

Quinn returned Rachel's smile and closed her locker, "yeah, I'd like that."

...

Sitting on her bed with Mercedes and Kurt, watching one of the movies from the Twilight series, Rachel was glad to have a girls night, where she didn't have to think about Finn and everything that swirled around their former relationship. Things seemed to be going well until Mercedes began asking about how Bella was supposed to choose between Edward and Jacob. Both made her feel good in different ways and Rachel quickly realized Mercedes saw similarities to her current relationship stress between being with Shane, but still having feelings for and being pursued by Sam.

When Rachel responded to Mercedes' question with, "you don't get to choose when it comes to true love. True love chooses you. And you better be certain when it comes to marriage because marriage is a promise and it lasts forever," she commented, reminding herself again that she did the right thing by turning Finn down.

Realizing it was a great time to tell her two friends, because she, so far, had only told Quinn, and had a pretty good idea that Finn never told Kurt, Rachel shifted to face Kurt and Mercedes, turning off the TV, "I need to tell you guys something," she started, taking a deep breath once they looked at her, "Finn proposed."

"What?" The two gasped, both sitting up a little, "and what did you say?" Mercedes asked quickly.

"I said 'no'," she replied, biting her lip, "I... we're not ready to get married and I really don't think we love each other like a couple should to do that. I know I don't have those feelings," she said softly.

"Okay, I'm going home right now to yell at Finn, because this is insane," Kurt snapped, shifting to get up.

Rachel quickly reached out and rested a hand on Kurt's arm to stop him, "that's not fair, Kurt. I'm sure he's already upset because I turned him down, so you don't need to make him feel any worse."

Kurt sighed, "alright, fine, but I am going to talk to him about it."

"Rachel, you did the right thing. I can't believe he proposed to you, because you guys are way too young to get married," Mercedes said, truthfully.

"Yes, you are," Kurt agreed, "I can't believe he did that. What was he thinking?" He shook his head, trying to figure everything out.

"I think it's because he's had a rough few weeks or months," Rachel admitted softly, "he didn't get the scholarship to OSU like he thought he would, then he found out about his dad and I don't know. I can't speak for him, but that's what I think happened. Probably that and he got the idea after all that Mr. Schuester did to figure out how to propose to Ms. Pillsbury."

Mercedes reached out and rested her hand on Rachel's, "are you okay? Did you guys break up completely?"

"We did," Rachel nodded, "I ended it completely. I have a bright future ahead of me and I shouldn't let anything from my past hold me back. I need space to focus on NYADA, graduation and my future and I can't do that engaged to him. When we got back together, we agreed it'd be until the end of this year. Yes, I've had feelings for him for a long time, but I can't see myself making a forever future with him like I once thought. I would have been fine with staying together until the end of the year, but after he proposed and especially because I turned him down, I think it's going to be awkward between us and I just thought it was best to end it all now, because the longer we wait, the harder it will be to let go," she admitted honestly.

Kurt reached out and rested his hand on Mercedes and Rachel's hands, "you did the right thing, Rachel. If you need anything, don't be afraid to talk to us, okay? Just because Finn is my step-brother, doesn't mean I'm going to take his side."

"Thanks," Rachel smiled at him.

...

Though Kurt didn't rush home to talk to his step-brother about proposing to Rachel when she told him, he did want to talk to Finn about it. He now understood why he'd been moping around the house and not walking with her in the hallway at school, but after only two days, he couldn't wait any longer, so he went looking for him after school and found him in the weight room.

"Hey, Kurt, what's up?" Finn asked, seeing him walking in.

Kurt paused near the weight bench Finn was working at, "we need to talk."

As soon as Kurt answered, Finn already knew what he was going to bring up, "I can't believe she told you," he sighed.

"I can't believe you didn't! We're supposed to be brothers," Kurt snapped.

"Look, I didn't want to put you in an awkward position with her," Finn replied with a shrug, "and what does it matter? She turned me down, anyway, but I'm sure you already know that, too."

"Yeah, I do, which is the right thing," Kurt told him, "Finn, do you really think that getting engaged to a girl you've had an on-again-off-again relationship for the past few years is a good idea? Do you even know what you're doing after high school? I haven't seen you even look at a college website, let alone apply to any of them. Did you think you'd just get engaged to her, marry her after high school and then dash off to New York and magically you're life would be perfect? Rachel's been dreaming of New York and Broadway since she was a child and marrying you could honestly hold her back from that. Do you want that? Do you want to ruin her life?"

"Whoa, that's a low blow, Kurt," Finn snapped.

"Someone needs to knock some sense into you," Kurt replied, not caring if he got pissed.

"Rachel's like the only good thing I've got going in my life right now, well, had in my life. She won't even talk to me now," Finn huffed.

"And for good reason! Look, I get you've have a rough year with finding out who your dad really is and losing the scholarship, but getting engaged to Rachel isn't going to make it all better. You put her in an uncomfortable position. We're Seniors in high school, we're supposed to be planning our futures, figuring out what schools we want to go to, where we want to live, what we want to do with the rest of _our_ lives. You can't expect Rachel to plan her future and yours! She's got enough on her plate as it is."

Finn took a seat on the bench and looked at him, "but I love her and I want to be with her."

"You've had a lot of things going on lately and Rachel has been there for you, but she's not the magic answer. If you guys got married you'd be worse off than you are now. You have your whole lives ahead of you and most high school romances don't last, so what's so special about you two that tells you it will?" Kurt asked him, "do you guys have anything in common besides Glee Club?" Finn opened his mouth to reply and then closed it, unable to come up with something on the spot, "that's what I thought. It's time for you and Rachel to move on," Kurt told him, turning around and walking out of the room, leaving his step-brother to contemplate what they'd talked about.

...

**3x13 - Heart**

...

When Sugar invited everyone to her Valentine's Day party, Rachel didn't plan to attend. Sugar specifically stated everyone had to bring a date and since she was no longer seeing anyone, she was not going to make an appearance and be the only single person there.

Rachel hadn't told her dads about Finn proposing, but she knew it was only a matter of time before they realized she wasn't spending time with him, so that evening, she decided to bring it up over dinner, "dads, I... need to tell you something."

"What is it, sweetheart?" LeRoy asked.

"Is everything alright?" Hiram motioned to her half eaten plate of food, "you've hardly touched your dinner."

"I, um, I don't know if you've noticed, but Finn and I have not been spending any time together," she started.

"I have noticed that," LeRoy nodded.

"That's because we broke up about two weeks ago," she said softly.

"Oh, sweetheart! Why didn't you say anything? Did he hurt you? Did he cheat on you?" Hiram got up and moved around the table to sit next to her, "talk to us."

She shook her head, "no, he didn't hurt me or cheat on me," she confirmed, "he actually proposed to me, and I told him to give me some time to answer. I did some thinking and talked to a friend at school and she helped me realize that we're too young to get married and I realized I'll always care about him, but not enough to marry him, so I called it off when I turned him down," she explained, trying to keep from crying.

The two dads' mouths fell open in shock at what she said, both taking a moment to gather their thoughts and LeRoy reached over and took her hand, "I'm so sorry you broke up, sweetheart, but you did the right thing. You are way too young to get engaged or married. You have your whole lives to do that."

Rachel took a deep breath and nodded, "I feel bad I hurt him, but I need my own space to do what I want. Glee Club has Regionals and then Nationals after that, I have the NYADA audition coming up and graduation seems like it's just around the corner and planning to move to New York," she sighed, "Finn's a great guy, and he'll make someone happy one day, but it won't be me. I couldn't let it go on any longer," she admitted.

Hiram wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "you're absolutely right. You definitely don't need that added stress right now and you need time to be Rachel, not Finn's girlfriend," he agreed.

...

Sitting at lunch with Mike, Tina, Artie, Rory and Kurt, Puck could tell everyone was excited about Sugar's party, because that's all they were talking about.

"So Puck, who are you taking to Sugar's party?" Tina asked curiously.

"I don't know if I'm gonna go," Puck admitted honestly.

"You're gonna turn down a chance to party?" Artie gasped in surprise, "this from the one who talked Rachel into having a party at her house the weekend her dads were gone last year? That's a new one!"

Puck rolled his eyes, "I don't know if I'm gonna go, because I don't know who I'm gonna take," he replied.

"You need a real girlfriend, not one of those cougars you seem to enjoy hooking up with," Kurt commented from across the table.

"I tried having a girlfriend, but it didn't work out, remember?" Puck asked.

"You just haven't found the right person yet, but you will, and when you do," Kurt said back in his seat, "you'll just know."

...

After lunch, Puck couldn't help replaying Kurt's words over on his head. He agreed with Kurt and knew he just hadn't found 'the one' yet, but he highly doubted he would find her in high school. Pushing aside his thoughts, he agreed to join the guys who were helping Artie sing a song for Sugar and spent the day after school practicing with them.

Sitting in the choir room the next day, Puck was sitting in the second row of seats, right behind Rachel, but noticed that she was not sitting next to Finn, "_that's odd,_" he thought, "_it's almost Valentine's Day. I'd expect them to be all over each other,_" he smirked and looked up when Mr. Schuester walked into the classroom.

"Finn, you wanted to start Glee today?" Will asked.

"Yeah, Mr. Schue, I do," Finn nodded, getting up and moving to the front of the classroom. "Um, I don't know a lot about what I want for my future, but with Valentine's Day coming up, I've been doing a lot of thinking and Rachel, I know we have a lot of work to do and things to discuss," he moved towards her and knelt down in front of her, "but I love you and I really do want to marry you, so I hope you'll reconsider my proposal," he said honestly, pulling out the ring box and opening it to show her.

"Finn! What are you doing?" Rachel hissed, shifting uncomfortably in her seat, "I told you 'no' once, and I'll say it again, 'no'. I don't want to marry you," she murmured, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

The entire club's mouths were hanging open in shock, especially because of how Finn said 'reconsider', so the ones who didn't know were surprised to find out he'd proposed in the first place, "why not? What's so wrong with me that you don't want to marry me?"

"Don't you dare turn this around to make you look like the innocent one! Where do you get the idea that we're ready to get married? We're not! We're too young, we need space to be ourselves and figure out our lives before we even consider making a commitment like that! There's nothing wrong with you," she told him, "and this is not the place to be discussing this, either!" She told him, shaking her head, "if you wanted to talk to me you could have come to me, and just because you propose again, this time, in front of our friends, doesn't mean I'm going to change my mind. I'm sorry Finn, but my answer is still the same," she reached for her bag and then stood up, "and I apologize everyone, but I'm not in the mood to sit around and listen to love songs. I'll see you guys tomorrow," she added, storming out of the room.

Puck tried to keep his facial expressions as neutral as possible, but he was utterly shocked. He wasn't sure what was more surprising, the fact that Rachel had turned down Finn's proposal or that Finn had proposed in the first place, but what he did know was that Rachel is a friend and he definitely was gonna try to cheer her up and he had a good idea how he could.

...

Rachel just needed some to calm down. She couldn't believe Finn would try to propose again, especially in front of all of their friends. She wondered if he kicked a chair over when she left the classroom, but at the moment she didn't care. She dropped her things off at her locker and then went to find a quiet spot to gather her thoughts, playing a game on her phone. She was also trying to ignore the red and pink decorations all over the school, "_Valentine's Day is just not my holiday,_" she told herself with a sigh.

Distracting herself for a little while, the bell rang to start lunch, so she got up and was heading through the courtyard full of lunch tables and was joined by Santana, "you did the right thing, you know?" The Cheerio said.

Rachel's eyes widened at her words, surprised she was on her side, "thank you. I can't believe he did that. I haven't spoken to him since I turned him down the first time, but I thought he would have gotten the hint. I didn't expect him to do that."

"Yeah, well, he's pissed, but he'll get over it," Santana waved her hand, stopping when Mercedes, Quinn, Sam, and the new kid, Joe Hart, walked up to them.

"Rachel, we have a request from a 'Secret Admirer' to sing you a song. After what happened in Glee, are you up for it?" Mercedes asked.

"Is it from Finn?" Rachel wondered, biting her lip.

"He was in Glee with us and the note and money wasn't there before we went to Glee. We checked our box on our way out here and it was there, so it probably wasn't. The note just said it was from a 'Secret Admirer'," Quinn explained.

Rachel took a deep breath, "I've never had a secret admirer before, so I'd be alright with that," she nodded, wanting to enjoy it, but had a sneaky suspicion it was still from Finn.

...

"Finn! We need to talk!" Rachel exclaimed as she stomped up to him the next morning. She'd spent the whole night trying to figure out who sent her the 'Vocal Valentine' and the only person she could come up with was him, "after what you did yesterday, do you really think I'm going to change my mind just because you sent me a love song?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I never sent you anything. I tried to propose to you, again, but you turned me down, again. Remember?" He retorted with a sigh.

"You're just saying that because you want to keep this big secret about something you've got planned to try and get me to change my mind. Well, you might as well stop whatever you're planning, because I'm done with you and I mean it," she snapped, turning on her heel and storming off from him and almost slamming into Puck on her way.

"Whoa, Berry, what's the hurry?" Puck asked, noticing she wasn't in a good mood, "do I need to beat someone up for you?"

Rachel shook her head, "no, Noah, you don't. I've just got a lot of things on my mind and have been upset."

"Yeah, I could tell that," he glanced up and saw Finn walking the opposite direction from where they were standing, "Hudson?"

She sighed, "yes. He had the God Squad sing to me yesterday and now he's denying he sent them."

"Maybe he didn't," Puck shrugged.

"But if it's not him, then who else could be my 'Secret Admirer?" Rachel wondered.

Puck shrugged, "don't know, but maybe they're closer to you than you think," he shrugged, patting his shoulder, "see you later, Rach."

"See you later, Noah," she called out as he started to walk away, now even more confused than she had been.

...

Puck's words continued to play over in her mind the rest of the day and all through the next. "_I'm missing something. What was Puck hinting at? 'Maybe they're closer to you than you think'; what does he mean?_" She thought, sitting in Glee, trying her hardest to not cry while listening to Mercedes sing 'I Will Always Love You' by Whitney Houston.

By the end of the song her tears eventually came and Rachel felt even worse for Mercedes when Sam walked out of the room, obviously upset by the message the song had. She couldn't help glancing to Finn, who was in the corner, his head hung and arms crossed over his chest, he was definitely mad and Rachel felt the song shared a similar meaning for them. She'd always love Finn, but never like _that_ and she hoped one day she'd be able to be friends with him, but didn't see that happening anytime soon.

Turning her attention to Mercedes, she got up to hug her, just like Kurt and the other girls in the club had and everyone wanted to break up the emotions, by bringing up Sugar's party the next night.

"Rachel, are you going to Sugar's party?" Quinn asked as she came to stand next to her.

"No," Rachel shook her head, "it was clear that Sugar invited only couples to her party and I don't have a date."

"Oh, well, I don't think she'd mind if you came. We'll all be there," Quinn motioned around to the club.

"Thank you," Rachel replied politely. Ever since Quinn had given her the advice that helped her make up her mind, the two were slowly building a friendship, "I'll think about it," she promised.

...

Hiram and LeRoy watched their daughter from the kitchen as she sat in their living room, having spent the whole Valentine's Day watching romantic comedies, "I wish there was something we could do to help her out. I hate seeing her like this. She hasn't even gotten out of her pajamas yet," Hiram admitted softly, motioning to her on the couch.

"It's her first big break-up, which unfortunately fell around Valentine's Day. She's a tough girl and will get through this. She just needs some time. I, for one, am glad she turned him down," LeRoy replied.

"So am I, but I still feel horrible," Hiram sighed.

"Rachel, sweetheart, dinner is ready, if you'd like to eat," LeRoy called out from the kitchen, "we just need to keep her occupied."

Rachel paused her movie and got up, padding into the kitchen, "you know I can hear you talking about me," she commented. "I'm upset because of the break-up, yes, but also because it's Valentine's Day and I haven't had the best of luck in finding someone to spend Valentine's Day with, that's all," she explained with a shrug.

"That's not true. You just haven't found the right person yet. One day you will," Hiram told her, wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

"Thanks," she smiled lightly, "I did the right thing, right?" She asked softly.

"You did, sweetheart. Finn seemed like a nice boy, but you both are much too young to get engaged. He should have thought about it a little more before he asked you something as big as that," LeRoy replied.

Rachel nodded, "he should have. I don't even think his mom or step-dad knew. I know his step-brother, Kurt, didn't... I just wish he would have talked to someone, gotten advice before doing that. My feelings have been all over the place for him and yes, when I first met him, I had a crush on him and we've dated on and off over the years, but I... I just can't marry him. He wasn't 'the one'."

"We were in our late-twenties when we got together. You've got plenty of time to find your special someone; high school isn't the end of your lives," Hiram said, "so there's no hurry."

...

After dinner, Rachel returned to her movies and her dads started cleaning up the kitchen, when the doorbell rang. "That's odd. Are you expecting someone, Rachel?" Hiram asked, moving towards the door and knowing he or LeRoy weren't.

"No," she said, pausing her movie and turning to look towards the door.

Hiram pulled it open and was surprised to see Noah Puckerman standing on the other side of it, "hey, Mr. Berry, is Rachel around?"

"Hey, Noah. Yes, she's here, come in," Hiram said, motioning inside and turning to Rachel, "you have a visitor, sweetheart."

When Rachel saw him walk inside, her eyes widened and she jumped up, "Noah! What are you doing here?" She asked surprised, moving towards him, "shouldn't you be on your way to pick up your date for Sugar's party?"

Puck rubbed his neck nervously and couldn't help looking over her pajama pants and the button up shirt she was now holding closed around her, "nice pajamas," he started, "um, well, I was wondering if you'd like to go with me to her party."

"Did your date cancel on you at the last minute?" She asked with a light laugh.

"No, I never invited anyone. Look, I was just thinking that since we're both single now, that we could go to her party together. I imagine today has been kinda tough, but I thought you'd like to get out of the house," he admitted, not really used to inviting girls out like that.

Rachel's mouth fell open in shock and for a moment she couldn't speak, but slowly her brain began functioning again, "you want to take me to Sugar's party?"

"Yes," Puck nodded, "if you don't want to go, that's cool, but I just didn't think you should be alone."

"I..." Rachel took a deep breath, a blush growing on her cheeks. Part of her wanted to turn him down, because she had just broken up with Finn, but it was Valentine's Day and just because she was single didn't mean she couldn't go out and she knew all of her friends would be at the party, too, "that would be lovely, Noah. I will need some time to get ready, though," she admitted.

"Take all the time you need," he nodded, smiling lightly at her.

"Okay," Rachel smiled at him and excused herself to head upstairs.

...

Rachel was thankful she hadn't spent the day crying, so her face wasn't red and puffy like it could be. It only took her about twenty minutes to clean up, do her hair and make up and throw on a cute sun dress covered in red hearts, perfect for Valentine's Day. Slipping her feet into a pair of red heels, she grabbed her purse and red jacket and made her way downstairs and followed voices to the kitchen, "I'm ready," she said, twirling around, "how do I look?"

"You look beautiful, sweetheart," Hiram smiled and LeRoy nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you look great," Puck said standing up, "so I guess we should get going. It started about ten minutes ago, so we shouldn't be too late."

"You kids have fun tonight," LeRoy replied, "but not _too_ much fun."

Rachel moved to her dads and shared a hug with each of them, "we will. Love you both and we won't be out too late," she promised.

"It's not a school night, so if you're out a little later, I don't think that would be a problem," Hiram commented, "Noah, make sure she does have fun."

"I will, Mr. Berry," Puck nodded, holding out his arm to Rachel, "ready?"

Rachel linked her arm into his and smiled at him, "yes, I am."

...

Puck and Rachel walked into Breadsticks in the middle of the God Squad's performance and Rachel wasn't surprised that everyone from the Glee Club was there, except Finn. She and Puck made their way over to a table with Kurt and waved at some friends on their way before taking a seat with Kurt.

"So this is a surprise," Kurt admitted, motioning to Puck and Rachel together.

"Noah invited me to join him for the party," Rachel explained, taking her jacket off and hanging it over the back of her chair.

"Just because we're both single, doesn't mean we can't party on Valentine's Day," Puck added.

...

Sugar's party was very entertaining and Rachel appreciated that Puck had invited her out. She knew that even though her romantic relationship was gone, she had friends that were important to her and was glad to spend the holiday with them.

Rachel happily joined Blaine, Mercedes, Kurt and Brittany on stage singing 'Love Shack' and enjoyed dancing with her friends, including her date, even sharing a slow dance with him. During their dance, she realized that even though they'd had their issues and she still was upset that he'd done unmentionable things with her biological mother, he'd always been there for her. He took a slushy for her and he apologized for ever slushying her in the first place, he chose Glee over football for her, he moved the Glist off her locker, he was the first one to want to beat Jesse up when he found out he'd egged her, when she and Finn had issues the previous year he was there for her, but stopped himself before anything got too far, because he didn't want to hurt Finn, but when she wanted to make Finn jealous he happily sang a duet with her, and when she talked of getting a nose job, he helped talk her out of it, by helping plan a Barbra intervention.

Puck was never like that with others, at least that she knew of and she hoped it meant he felt she was a friend. Even if he was the 'Bad Ass' of McKinley, he did seem to have a soft spot for her and she knew that he was a good guy underneath the rough exterior and hoped she could stay friends with him after graduation.

When Sugar's party ended, Rachel and Puck said 'goodbye' to their fellow Glee members and got into his truck. The trip to her house was quiet, but when he pulled up to her house and parked, Rachel turned to him, "thank you, Noah, for inviting me out tonight. I'm really glad we went. I had fun."

"You're welcome. I had fun, too," he agreed, glancing at her in the dim light coming from her front porch light, "friends can go out on Valentine's Day, too, right?"

"Yes, they can," she nodded, smiling at him, "we're friends?"

"I'd like to think so. What do you think about that?" He wondered.

"I think it's a great idea. I like being friends with you, Noah," she admitted honestly.

A moment of quiet passed between them, before he spoke again, "so did you ever figure out who your 'Secret Admirer' was?"

Rachel sighed, "no. I just don't understand. I thought it was another way for Finn to try to get me back, but then he denied it and I think I believe him. I figured that whoever it is would have revealed themselves at the party tonight, but I guess not."

"Maybe they decided it wasn't the right time. It's too expected," Puck shrugged. "Isn't a 'Secret Admirer' something common around this holiday?"

"It is and you could be right. I also had a thought that it was Quinn or Mercedes, but they just said it was a 'Secret Admirer' to help cheer me up," Rachel explained, "but again, I think they would have told me by now if it was one of them."

"Did it cheer you up?" Puck wondered, glancing at her.

"Yes, it did," she nodded, "I was starting to think that Valentine's Day gave me bad luck. Then you invited me out tonight and between the song and spending the evening with you and our friends, I realized that I don't have bad luck around Valentine's Day, it was just that Finn wasn't the right person for me," she leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "thank you, Noah, for taking me out."

Puck smiled at her, "no problem, Rach. That's what friends are for."

...

Shout out to **youhadmeatmashup** and **PKTeach** for reading this over and lovin' it!

...

A/N5: And so begins the Puckleberry friendship. This has been fun and I hope ou all enjoyed! Please be gentle, but I would love to hear what you thought! Up next is '3x14 - On My Way' and '3x15 - Big Brother'. Maybe even '3x16 - Saturday Night Glee-ver', depending on how much I have to alter.

A/N6: For those of you who don't know, back in late-January / early-February, I began writing a Lark series. It started out as one fic, but I decided to turn it into a series. A second fic was posted shortly after the first one. In it, Mark and Lea discuss with and get the writers, including Ryan, to realize that the Finn/Rachel relationship needs to end. The Lark series overall changes and removes Finn/Rachel from the show and turns the last of season 3 into a Puckleberry friendship that will eventually turn into a Puckleberry endgame relationship by the end of the season. The Lark series is AU after 1/1/2012 and the end of 3x11 - Michael... When I began writing the Lark series, I eventually wanted to write the show's side of the series, and I finally got the inspiration to go through with it. It's discussed in the second part of the Lark series, 'Something To Talk About', that the scripts for episodes 3x11 to 3x13 have already been written, so the writers decide to alter the scripts to follow along with a break-up of Finn and Rachel... I plan to keep the episodes as close to what we've seen on TV, so most everything will be the same, except instead of the Finn/Rachel relationship, we'll have Puckleberry building a friendship and soon have a relationship... I say this will 'parallel' my Lark series, because when I return to writing it, I can reference these scenes in my Lark fics... You don't need to read my Lark series to understand this, but you're welcome to. You can read and comment without having an LJ account or you can PM me on FF. They're only posted on my LJ, because it goes againt FF's posting rules:

'Breaking The Rules' ( sapphiresfic . livejournal . com / 54783 . html ) - Lea and Mark finally get to spend a New Year's Eve together!

'Something To Talk About' ( sapphiresfic . livejournal . com / 55471 . html ) - continued from 'Breaking The Rules' - After the events of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, Mark and Lea definitely have a lot to talk about.

...


	2. Part 2: '3x14 On My Way'

Title: Breakaway, Part 2/?

**Spoilers:** This part to '3x14 - On My Way'; whole series will be through the Glee season 3 finale.

Disclaimer1: I don't own Glee, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N1: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

Disclaimer2: Title from one of my favorite Kelly Clarkson songs 'Breakaway'. Just borrowing. I don't own!

...

**Warning:** This chapter mentions and deals with the attempted suicide that is dealt with in this episode.

...

A/N3: This chapter is dedicated to all those who've been lost to suicide, attempted suicide and / or the people who've been touched by it in _any_ way. When I was a Junior in high school, a fellow Junior I didn't know well, but some of my friends did, committed suicide. I'll never forget the day when the school found out. Not easy at all. His locker was just a few feet away from mine... I'll also never forget the day my mom got the call from her nephew that his wife committed suicide. That was in January 2010. I was actually in the middle of editing and updating a chapter of 'Out of the Blue', one of my other Puckleberry fics... It's not easy to deal with at all and I want you to know that no matter what, someone is there for you! If you ever need to talk, my inbox is ALWAYS open here and on Tumblr, Twitter, LJ...

Disclaimer3: Any familiar lines from the episode listed have been underlined... Just borrowing them! I don't own!

...

**3x14 - On My Way**

...

As school ended for the day, Rachel made her way towards her locker. She was meeting Kurt at the Lima Bean in a little while and wanted to make sure she had her homework before she left school for the day. Spinning the combination of her lock, she pulled her door open and gasped at what she saw. Inside was a single, long-stem yellow rose with a small tag hanging from a ribbon, wrapped around the stem. Reaching in, she took the rose out and glanced up and down the hallway to see if anyone was watching her.

She didn't see anyone familiar, so she returned her attention to the item in her hands and flipped the tag over to read what was written. "_Rachel, just a gift to say 'hi'! Your Secret Admirer,_" the message read. She smiled brightly at the thoughtful gift, but part of her was upset the words had been typed on a computer and printed out, so she couldn't figure out who was sending them. "_Who are you? I do appreciate the thoughtfulness, but I wish I knew who you were to thank you properly. And how did you know my locker combination? You must be someone I know well,_" she thought.

Her phone beeped in her pocket and she pulled it out, finding a message from Kurt that he was already at the coffee shop, so she responded that she was on her way and gathered her things. Holding onto the rose, she closed her locker and headed out to the parking lot, unable to wipe the smile off her face. She didn't know who was her Secret Admirer, but they'd already done two things that Finn had never done and it only confirmed what she'd felt all along; Finn wasn't 'the one'.

...

Walking into the Lima Bean, with her school bag over her shoulder and the flower in a hand, Rachel waved at Kurt as she took her place in the short line. After a few moments, with a drink in hand, she joined him. "Hey! Sorry I was a bit late," she said, setting the flower and her drink down on the table.

"It's okay. I had these to keep me company," he motioned to several fashion magazines on the table. "Who is the flower from?" Kurt wondered.

"My Secret Admirer," she replied, flipping the tag over so he could see it as she took her jacket off and hung it on the back of her chair, "I don't know who they are."

"Wow! Is it the same person who sent you the song last week?" He asked, surprised.

"I'm assuming it is. It was inside my locker, so it's got to be someone who knows me," she sighed, "it's not you, is it?"

"Me? No!" Kurt shook his head, "and honey, anyone who knows you will figure out your combination is Barbra's birthday, 4-24-42," he added with a grin.

Rachel blushed and nodded, "I suppose it would be easy to figure out," she bit her lip. "I... This definitely makes me happy, but on the other hand, they're being even more secretive because they didn't write the note by hand. It's frustrating," she admitted, frowning slightly.

"I'm sure they just don't want you to figure out who it is until they're ready for you to know. Guys aren't always easy with this stuff," Kurt told her, "and speaking of knowing something, is there anything going on between you and Puck? Because honestly, I was really shocked to see you two at Sugar's party together," Kurt added, sipping his coffee.

"Are you asking me as my friend or as my ex-boyfriend's step-brother?" Rachel wondered.

"Your friend," he replied, "yes, your ex is my step-brother and we're trying to be brothers, but I told you I was on your side and I mean it. As your friend, I'm just curious about you and want to know if you have any new budding romances in your life."

Rachel blushed at his comment, "Noah is a great guy, but we're just friends. I just broke up with Finn. I'm definitely not looking for a boyfriend. I'm better off being single right now, but I can have guy friends. I need to focus on my NYADA audition and of course, Regionals," she explained, clearing her throat when she noticed Sebastian walking towards them.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't a young Barbra Streisand and an old Betty White. Where's your pirate sidekick?" Sebastian asked with a smirk.

Kurt rolled his eyes and glanced at Rachel, "we can't come here, anymore," he sighed.

Sebastian was holding a brown envelope, "Rachel, I, uh, brought an engagement gift for you," he said, holding it out to her.

"I'm not engaged," Rachel told him, setting her coffee cup down, "so you can keep whatever you're trying to hand over."

"Oh, what a shame. Well, I suppose you can use it as inspiration for your next original song," Sebastian laughed, continuing to hold the envelope out to her.

Rachel glanced at Kurt and reluctantly took the item from him. Finding the flap, she started to pull out a glossy sheet of paper and immediately saw a severely altered, naked photo of 'Finn' staring back at them, wearing a pair of heels, "oh my god! Ew!" She exclaimed dropping the photo onto the pile of magazines at their table.

"Whoa, whoa!" Kurt gasped, his hand darting out to cover the center portion of the photo, "that's just totally wrong!"

"That is Photoshopped! His thing is not that small, or brown," Rachel added, scrunching up her nose in disgust and flipping the picture over so they didn't have to look at it anymore.

"And he could never fit into those pumps," Kurt added, glaring at Sebastian.

"Just think, from now until eternity, every time someone Googles 'Finn Hudson' they'll be treated to that and dozens just like it. That's the beauty of the internet. It stays with us forever," Sebastian commented casually.

"What do you want, Sebastian?" Rachel asked, unable to look at him in the eyes and knowing he was up to something.

"McKinley gets home court advantage this year, so I want you to make up some excuse why you can't perform at Regionals," he looked right at Rachel, "and then drop out. Simple as that. Then New Directions won't have their star singer and it guarantees me and The Warblers will win at Regionals."

"That's blackmail!" Rachel snapped.

Sebastian shrugged, "you have twenty-four hours to drop out, Rachel, or I press the upload button," he smiled and then turned and walked away, leaving Rachel and Kurt stunned.

...

Kurt and Rachel agreed to not say anything about the picture until the next day during Glee, but they did let Mr. Schuester know that morning. When Finn saw the picture, he was disgusted, mortified, and it fueled his desire to beat up Sebastian. He got as far as standing up and walking a few feet, with Blaine, Mike and Puck joining him, before Will stepped in front of them, "Finn, chill!"

"No, Mr. Schue, I'm not gonna chill!" Finn snapped.

Sam and Artie, when they first heard everything, had gone into Will's office to get the rule book, and at that moment, the two came out, Sam pushing Artie's wheel chair as Artie read the book, "the official show choir rule book states that '_any real or perceived threat of violence, vandalism or humiliation will be met with unquestionable disqualification of the threatening party's team_'. It's right here, Page 72, bylaw 15, section 6, article 44."

"Guys, I contacted the headmaster at Dalton, but now it's out of my hands," Will said sadly.

"They're not going to do anything," Blaine commented.

"It doesn't matter. I'm not dropping out of Regionals because of this. We're not going to let them beat us like this," Rachel replied, shrugging her shoulders in her seat as Blaine, Puck and Mike returned to their chairs.

"So you're just gonna be selfish and let him do this?" Finn snapped, glaring at her.

"I'm not being selfish! I'm just not going to let Sebastian get what he wants!" Rachel retorted.

"I hate to say this, but you guys are just gonna have to deal with things like this. The more successful you get, the more garbage people are going to make up about you. They're gonna love to tear you down," Will told them truthfully.

Finn shook his head and stared at Rachel, "I can't believe you'd do that to me. I know we broke up and you're pissed at me because I embarrassed you in front of everyone when I tried to propose again, but I didn't think you'd stoop this low. Is this just to get back at me?"

"No, it isn't and I don't understand why all of a sudden you're so concerned about this!" Rachel exclaimed, getting up to face him, "we've always been the losers and the freaks around this school. People tease us, they throw slushies in our faces, call us names and try to start rumors about us. We never backed down to them, so I don't know why we would start now. Mr. Schuester is right. Sebastian is only doing this because he knows we're better than they are and figures this is the only chance they have to win. We're not going to let them," Rachel said, standing her ground.

"I agree with Rachel," Puck said from his seat a few feet away, "she's right and I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but the best way to get back at them is going to be beating their asses at Regionals."

Rachel turned to Puck and smiled at him, "thank you, Noah."

"No problem," he shrugged.

"Yeah, there is a problem! You're not the one who's getting a embarrassing Photoshopped picture of yourself posted on the internet!" Finn exclaimed, then looked at Rachel, "maybe I should Photoshop a picture of you and post it online. Then how would you feel?"

"Finn, stop it!" Rachel stomped her foot on the floor, "now you're being the selfish one! You're expecting me to give up my last Regionals competition just because _you_ don't want some stupid, fake picture of _you_ posted online. I already missed Sectionals because of a choice I made and I am damn sure not going to do it again, for anything, so for once why don't you try to think about someone else besides yourself!"

Finn glared at her and shook his head, "wow! Nice to know how you really feel about me," he said, "I guess it's a good thing we broke up," he added, turning and walking out of the classroom.

"Yes it is!" She yelled after him, refusing to let him get the last word in.

...

After Glee, Puck caught up with Rachel at her locker, "hey, Rachel. Are you okay?"

"Yes, Noah, I am. Thank you for asking and thank you for agreeing with me in Glee," she replied with a smile.

"Like I said, no problem. You're right. Without you singing during Regionals, we don't stand a chance at winning," he told her truthfully.

Rachel smiled at his compliment, "thanks. I'm sure that's not quite true, but I appreciate it anyway."

"It's true. Then again, maybe I'm biased because I've got your back," Puck shrugged.

"Noah, if I ask you something, will you promise me you won't be upset because I do?" She asked nervously.

"You just did ask me something, but I promise I won't be upset. What's up?" Puck asked, raising a curious eyebrow at her.

Biting her lip, she took a deep breath, "why are you being so nice to me? I know we agreed we're friends and friendships start at all sorts of times, but we've hardly spoken all year. Is it because I was with Finn? I hate to admit I'm a little worried you have another reason to become friends."

"I'll be honest, probably a part of me wanted to keep my distance from you because given my history with Finn and his girlfriends, I didn't want him to think I was trying to steal his girl, again. Another reason is because I've just realized that we graduate soon and there are some people that I want to be friends with after we're out of school and you're one of them," he admitted looking at her, "and I don't have any secret reason why I want to be friends," he promised.

"I really want to be friends with you after we graduate, too, Noah," she smiled at him, motioning down the hallway and he fell into step as she started walking in that direction, "and I'm sorry I asked, but I just needed to, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it. Don't be sorry. You have every right to ask," he assured her, "and now you know."

"Yes, now I know," she agreed.

...

At the end of the day, Rachel went back to her locker and opened it up, not as surprised as she had been the day before when she found a gift from her 'Secret Admirer'. This time it was a large gold star with an 'R' engraved into it, hanging from a key chain and this typed message was, "_Can't wait to hear you sing at Regionals. I know you'll be amazing. You are a star! Your Secret Admirer._"

Rachel smiled brightly, her fingers brushing over the gold star, "thank you, Secret Admirer," she whispered, pressing a light kiss to the cool metal, "_and again, I really wish I knew who you were,_" she thought glancing down the hallway to see if she recognized anyone and when she didn't, she sighed, "_please don't take too long to tell me who you are, because I'd really like to know._"

...

As news began to spread all over the school from Principal Figgins, Emma, Will, Sue and Coach Beiste about their former classmate, Dave Karofsky, attempting suicide, the entire school was full of mixed emotions. No one was really sure how to feel. Those who didn't know Dave Karofsky well tried to just shrug it off, but many who knew him were pretty emotional.

Suicide was not an easy topic to deal with and everyone was realizing that life was too short to hold petty grudges, so those who'd had issues in the past few days were starting to make amends, which is what lead Finn to walk up to Rachel while she was at her locker, "hey Rachel, can I talk to you?" Finn asked softly.

Rachel turned a little, "hello, Finn. What can I help you with?" She asked, part of her still upset about the events of the day before in Glee.

"Look, I, um, wanted to say I'm sorry for Glee yesterday," he said honestly.

As much as she wanted to continue to be mad at him, she took a deep breath, "apology accepted and," she bit her lip, "I suppose I should apologize for not being more considerate about how you felt about it."

Finn nodded, "yeah. I guess we both have things to apologize for."

"Yes," she nodded, "I think what Dave tried to do woke us up and helped us realize that life's too short to be mad or upset about little things, compared to the big things in our lives."

"It did and," Finn took a deep breath, "I'd be okay if you performed at Regionals."

Rachel smirked, "I was always going to."

"Oh, okay," he nodded, "um, I also get why you told me 'no'. We are too young to get married and I think I just needed some time to realize that," he told her, "so, um, do you think we could still be friends?"

"Yes, I think we can be," Rachel replied, holding out her hand to him.

Finn took her hand in his and shook it, "cool," he nodded at her, "so I'll see you later, friend."

Rachel nodded and smiled, "see you later, Finn."

...

Walking away from Finn, Rachel noticed Puck down the hallway and skipped over to him, "hey, Noah."

"Hey, Rachel. What's up?" He asked, glancing at her.

"I was wondering if you could do something for me," she admitted, thoughts of her own from that day surfacing after Finn's apology and wanted to get them off her chest.

Puck had seen Rachel talking to Finn, so he stopped and sighed, "what did Finn do this time and do you want me to knock some sense into him?"

Rachel's eyes narrowed in confusion and then waved off his offer, "no, nothing like that. This has nothing to do with Finn," she promised.

"Okay, good. Then I'm all ears," he said, pausing at his own locker.

"I was hoping, well, I know we've talked about being friends and I just... Yesterday we said we wanted to be friends after graduation and I want you to promise me that you meant it. That we'll keep in touch after graduation. I don't want to lose your friendship," she admitted, looking up at him, "and I... there's something else," she bit her lip.

"I promise we'll keep in touch," Puck replied honestly, "and what else?"

"I know what you did with, um, Shelby," she said keeping her voice low.

Puck swallowed nervously. If there was one time he regretted sleeping with a cougar, it was that moment. He knew she knew about it; the whole club did, "look, Rach, I..."

Rachel reached up and pressed a finger to his lips, "no, Noah, I don't want to know anything more than what I already do. It really disgusted me, but with this whole Karofsky thing, I realized that life's too short. I'm not going to let myself continue to be sickened by it. I'm sure you had your reasons and maybe one day I'll be comfortable talking about it, but right now I'd like you to know that I forgive you... I'm still kind of upset by it, but I'll get over it, because I don't want either of us to worry it will ruin our friendship. It's done, over with and in the past, okay?"

"Okay," Puck sighed, surprising himself that it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, "that's, um, awesome. Thanks, Rachel."

...

Meeting for Glee in the auditorium the next day, Will had all the students, even Artie, sit on the stage in a large circle to talk; what happened with Karofsky really had affected him. Rachel chose to sit between Puck and Mike and everyone was definitely a little confused when Will brought out a jar of peanut butter. He explained that Rory, their Irish exchange student, had never tasted it before and it was to show his point that they had a lot of things in their lives left to do, even if it was something as simple as tasting a new food item. "I want you to promise me that no matter how depressed you get, no matter how hopeless or alone you feel, you'll try your best to imagine all of the amazing experiences you have ahead of you," Will said, looking around at each of them.

When Mercedes mentioned that she didn't think anyone there would ever think of trying what Dave tried, Will admitted he had when he was a Junior in high school. He'd gotten caught cheating and he got so upset and scared about what his dad would think, he went to the roof of the school and almost jumped off of it.

The teens were stunned to hear him talk like that and Kurt was the one to ask if he was telling the truth, "that day, I promise you, felt like it was the end of the world, but you know what? It wasn't... For some of you, getting caught cheating isn't a big deal," he looked at Puck, who had made a comment about doing it all the time, "but there's something. Everyone has something that might take them up to that edge. Look at all the things I would have missed out on. I would never have met you guys, or Emma. I would have missed out on everything. So right now, I want you all to think of something that you're looking forward to. Big things," Will requested, his eyes looking around the circle of students on the stage.

Everyone did have something big, to them, that they were looking forward to. Mercedes mentioned she'd like to meet Rachel's children, causing Rachel to blush, duck her head, but smiled and nodded at Mercedes. Rachel also shared a glance with Puck. He was sitting next to her, and she wasn't quite sure what made her look at him, but she was met with a smile and something sparked in her that she hadn't felt in quite a while, but wasn't quite sure what 'it' was.

Moving on to other dreams, Puck took his turn, "I'm sorta embarrassed to admit it, but I really do want to graduate high school," he said, feeling something on his knee and glanced to see Rachel's hand rubbing it gently. They shared a smile and then returned their focus to the others talking.

Everyone had something important they were dreaming of and when it was Rachel's turn, she smiled, "I'm looking forward to being friends with all of you for the rest of my life," she admitted. She'd left her hand on Puck's kneel and gently squeezed it as she glanced around at her friends, before her eyes returned to him. She was surprised that she'd kept her hand on his knee, but she wanted him to know she was there for him. They'd already talked about it the day before, but it was almost like a silent promise from her that she meant it and the smile he gave her, and the fact that he wasn't shaking off her touch, told her he felt the same way.

...

Will and all the teens agreed they were all looking forward to Regionals the next day and hoping they won. The day before, Santana, Brittany, Blaine and Kurt went to confront Sebastian and after what happened to Karofsky, Sebastian realized it wasn't 'fun and games' anymore and promised he destroyed all of the pictures of Finn and wanted the Warblers to win fair and square, even promising to dedicate their performance to Dave and ask for donations to one of Lady Gaga's charities.

Finn was relieved the pictures were gone, but the teens weren't completely 'okay' with what Sebastian had done. They all knew the best way to get back at him was to beat the Warblers, which is why Will had also called the club to meet in the auditorium. He wanted them to have one more practice before Regionals the next day. They only had time to go through their songs once, but even that final time, the teens were satisfied and confident that they were ready to crush Dalton.

After practice, the teens went their own ways and Rachel had a lot on her mind. Confidence for Glee was nothing compared to thoughts she kept having. During the rest of her day, she decided to talk to her dads and see if they'd be okay having the whole club over after Regionals, win or lose, and she also was thinking about her 'Secret Admirer' and the gifts they'd been leaving in her locker, but front and center were the few silent moment's she's shared with Puck in the auditorium, sparking confusing feelings in her. She enjoyed being friends with him, but part of her thought back to all the good times they'd shared and she couldn't help wondering if there was a chance for something else, something more between them.

Opening her locker when she reached it, she blushed, seeing a necklace hanging from one of the hooks, with a gold star pendant hanging from it. She read the typed message and smiled, "_Something to wear at Regionals? Break a leg, star! You Secret Admirer._" Tears filled her eyes and they quickly began to fall. The week had been rough, and with all the confusing feelings she was having about Puck and the frustration of not knowing who her Secret Admirer was, she finally cracked from all the emotions.

She didn't expect anyone to walk up to her, so when Puck did, asking if she was alright, she jumped and gasped in shock, "oh, Noah. You scared me," she murmured, wiping her eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I just was walking down the hall and saw you didn't look very happy. Did you not like that?" He motioned to what was in her hand.

"Oh, this?" She blushed, looking at the star again, "I love it, actually. It's another gift from my Secret Admirer," she explained, pocketing the small gift and turning to look at him, "it's not that I'm unhappy. I am happy, but this week has just been rough, with what Dave tried and I'm frustrated because I haven't figured out who my Secret Admirer is yet and they've been more thoughtful in the past few weeks than Finn ever was in our entire relationship. That just confirms what I know is right, that Finn isn't 'the one' for me. I keep wondering if this person is just a friend who's trying to cheer me up because they know I just broke up with Finn, or if it's someone who has had feelings for me, but never acted on them because I was with him and now that we're not together anymore, they feel they can pursue me, but are nervous about outing themselves to me right now... And now's a hell of a time to start, when we're graduating in a few months," she sighed, "I'm sorry to be dropping this on you, but you asked and I... there's more, but I think you get it," she murmured, not wanting to tell him about the confusing feelings she had for him.

Puck didn't like dealing with female emotions, but he dropped his bag on the floor and wrapped his arms around her gently, "everything happens for a reason. This week has been tough on all of us and emotions are high. Tomorrow is Regionals and we're all nervous, which I'm sure is part of this, too. Your Secret Admirer may not want to stress you out before Regionals, by showing themselves and you not feeling the same. They'll come around, just give them time."

Sinking against his chest, Rachel relaxed, feeling safe and comfortable in his strong arms. "_I missed this feeling,_" she thought, realizing that she never felt that way with Finn, "thank you, Noah. I needed this," she admitted, looking up at him.

"You're welcome," he smiled at her, reaching up to wipe her eyes, "come on, no crying. Have a little adventure with your Secret Admirer and think of it as a good thing. They're giving you the space you need to get over Finn, so they won't just be your rebound."

Rachel blushed, but nodded, taking a deep breath, "yes, I suppose you're right. A little adventure is good at times. Thanks, you always know the right things to say."

"No problem. I guess since I'm usually the cause of girls issues, I've learned from my mistakes," he explained with a shrug, "want me to walk you to your car?"

"Sure," she smiled, wiping her eyes again and taking a deep breath, "that would be great!"

...

With Regionals being held at McKinley that year, the Glee Club chose to wear their costumes to the school, to save time getting ready. Dropping off their belongings in the choir room, and after Will did a head count to make sure everyone was there, they went to take their seats in the designated area for them and Rachel opted to sit with Puck and Artie.

"You're wearing it," Puck commented, motioning to the gold star necklace she had on.

Rachel's hand reached up to touch it and smiled, "well, my Secret Admirer did mention I could wear it to Regionals," she replied, "and I do love gold stars."

"That you do," he agreed, "are you feeling better after yesterday?"

"Yes," Rachel nodded, "I am. Thank you for asking."

"Good. Because we need your focus on right now," he winked at her.

"I promise," she rested her hand on his knee, "I'm totally focused on right now."

...

True to Sebastian's word, The Warblers dedicated their performance to Karofsky and asked for donations to Lady Gaga's charity. During their songs, New Directions along with the entire audience stood up and cheered them on, trying to be supportive.

The Golden Goblets went on next and after their song, New Directions returned to the choir room to finish getting ready. Just before going on, Will joined them, "alright, guys, listen up! Don't let them get into your heads, okay? Stay focused on what we do best," he suggested, glancing around.

"Show circle time, come on, let's huddle up!" Artie called out, rolling into the center of the room.

"Rachel, didn't you want to say something?" Will wondered.

"Oh, yes," Rachel nodded, standing between Blaine and Will, "for some of us, this is our last Regionals competition and I know we've been through a lot over the years, some more than others," she glanced around, "and after the competition, win or lose, I'm inviting everyone over to my house for snacks. My dads are totally okay with it and I just thought we could spend some time all together as friends. It's nothing fancy, but you're all welcome to come, you, too, Mr. Schue," she held out a hand and everyone began to add theirs to the center of the group, "New Directions on three?"

"One, two, three, New Directions!" They all exclaimed, clapping and making their way towards the door

...

As Rachel and the guys moved onto the stage to take their places, Puck glanced at Rachel and they shared a smile, nodding at each other, as the lights dimmed and the music began.

The girls joined everyone else on stage after a few moments and they all got through their mash-up of 'Fly' and 'I Believe I Can Fly'. New Directions brought the entire audience to their feet and as they finished, everyone except Mercedes, Brittany and Santana left the stage. As promised when the three girls rejoined New Directions, they and the former members of the Troubletones got to perform one song at competition and this time they were performing Kelly Clarkson's hit 'What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)'.

While the rest of New Directions stayed behind the curtain backstage, Rachel stood watching and listening to the girls' song and couldn't help the feeling that they were singing to Finn, for her. She was stronger without him. She could do what she wanted, when she wanted and didn't have to think of him and what he thought. If they had gotten engaged, he would have ruined her life, in more ways than one. She realized Finn didn't belong in New York. He wasn't that type of guy and she probably would have been forced to choose between him and New York, and even though she had dreamed of Broadway all her life, she was afraid her feelings of 'love' for him would have made her choose to be with him, giving up New York, which was unacceptable to her. She knew she shouldn't let anything stand in the way of getting to New York, a guy included, and was glad she'd woken up and made the right decision to turn down his proposal.

Turning a little, she smiled at Puck who was standing next to her, "shouldn't you guys be going up to the balconies?" She asked softly.

He shrugged, "I'll get there. Wanted to say, uh," he rubbed his neck, "break a leg, right? That's what they say?"

Rachel smiled at him, "yes, it is. Thanks, Noah," she nudged him in the arm, "now go, all of you, so you can get into your places," she added, noticing all the guys were still down there.

"Damn, alright, we're going," Puck laughed lightly and took the hint.

"Hey, Noah," she called out lightly, before he got too far away, "break a leg."

Puck nodded at her and followed the guys up to the small balconies above the auditorium, where they'd be singing their last song from.

...

Stepping onto the stage for their final song, 'Here's To Us', Rachel took a deep breath and began singing. The song could be taken to mean it was a boyfriend and girlfriend, having drinks and celebrating their relationship, not caring what others thought. When the song was picked, Rachel and Finn were still together and she related to the song, but now it made her slightly uncomfortable to be singing it, but she remained professional and put on the best show she could.

Now that she'd had some time to think about it, she realized it fit for her and the friends she'd made with her fellow Glee members. They'd all had their issues over the years, and ten years in the future, they could look back and toast to the tough times and the friendships they'd made, the feelings they had and the experiences they shared; it didn't have to mean it was only for a couple; it could be dedicated to their friendships, too.

When the girls joined her on stage and the guys began singing from the balconies above the auditorium, the audience was all standing and cheering them on and Rachel could see her dads proud faces. That made her extremely happy, to see them in the audience.

Glancing up above, she saw Puck and Finn standing together and she smiled at both of them, her friends, and the two nodded back to her. She hoped Finn didn't take it to mean anything else, because she was done with a romantic relationship with him, for good. Puck, on the other hand, she couldn't deny the building feelings she had for him.

As she sang the last of the song and she and the girls hugged on stage, she agreed with herself that the best thing for her was to take time for herself at that moment. She needed space to completely get over Finn and the drama from that, she needed time to focus on her NYADA audition and the end of school, she had a 'Secret Admirer' that though was nice, she wasn't sure if she'd ever find out who that person was and she wanted to get to be better friends with Puck before she even thought of pursuing him romantically, because she wasn't even sure he liked her as more than friends. The best thing for her, at that moment, was just to take everything slow, and like Puck had said the day before, 'everything happens for a reason', so if something between them was meant to be, it'd happen... in time.

The guys had quickly returned to the stage, while the audience gave a very long standing ovation and once everyone was together, the shared one last bow before everyone filed off and headed back to the choir room to wait for the judges to pick the winners.

...

Hugs were shared among the teens in the choir room, everyone's adrenaline pumping from their performance and the anxiety of waiting to find out if they won.

"You were amazing out there," Puck said, wrapping his arms around Rachel in a hug.

"Thanks," she smiled happily and returned his hug, sparks going off all of her body at his touch, "so were you."

"Nah, I was only out there for really one song. You did a hell of a lot more than I did," he replied, shrugging off the compliment. "So, party at your place?"

Rachel nodded, "yes. I figure most everyone will want to go home and change, but yeah, as soon as it's over. You are coming, right?"

Puck nodded, "yeah, I'll be there. Glee Club unity and all," he winked and glanced up as Will walked into the choir room.

"They've made their decision, so we need to go out onto the stage," Will commented, motioning to the door.

"Wow! That was quick," Rachel admitted, slipping her arm around Puck's and guiding him towards the door.

"Uh, okay, I guess we're going," Puck laughed lightly, surprised she was pulling him along, but didn't mind... They were friends after all.

...

As the three groups of teens stood on the stage, everyone nervously waited to find out their fate. The Golden Goblets took third place, leaving The Warblers and New Directions in competition for first place. Rachel glanced behind her and found Puck just a few feet away and she smiled at him briefly, before turning back to look at the judge, and within seconds he read the name of McKinley as the winning school.

The audience began cheering for them and the teens of New Directions began jumping up and down, tears falling and hugs and high fives being passed around as Will was handed their trophy.

Rachel shared a quick hug with Finn and as they pulled away, she saw Puck and moved to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "We did it, Noah!"

"Yeah, we did," he nodded, returning her hug, "now we definitely have something big to celebrate at your party."

As they pulled away, she nodded in agreement, "yes we do!"

...

The teens walked off stage and headed to the choir room again, this time to gather their things. Rachel told everyone to be over to her house in about an hour and a half, around four-thirty and slowly they began leaving school. Puck left with Sam and Rory and Rachel and the girls dug their jackets out and once Rachel had her's on, she waved to everyone and left the room. As she walked out, she heard her name and turned to see Finn standing in the hallway.

"Hey, Finn. Do you need something? I've got to go meet my dads," she admitted, motioning behind her.

"What's with you and Puck?" He asked quickly, "you're hugging him and acting like you guys are best friends, which I know isn't true!"

"No!" She shook her head and stepped back a few feet, "you don't get to do this again. I have nothing to explain to you. Noah is my friend and I'm allowed to hug my friends."

Finn glared at her, "damn it, Rachel! We're hardly broken up and you're already chasing after someone else! What the hell happened to needing space?"

"Finn, stop it! If you must know, I'm trying to build relationships with people, so when I leave McKinley, I still have friends. Noah has been there for me for the last few years, but we've never been close and we're trying to fix that. I do need space, but that doesn't mean I can't make friends," she explained, "you have no right to act like a jealous boyfriend, because we're over and have been for over two weeks. That's all the explanation you need. You're welcome to come to my house with everyone, but if you're going to act like this, then don't bother," she told him, shaking her head and turning to walk away, leaving him standing in the middle of the hallway.

...

By four, the Glee members began arriving and when Finn walked into the house, Rachel stared at him, "Finn."

Finn sighed, "look, I'm sorry. You're right, I got jealous and we are broken up, so I don't have any right. We cool?"

"As long as you promise me you'll stop being jealous about who I choose to spend my time with," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, I can do that. It might not be easy for a while, but I'll get better," he replied nodding.

"Alright, then welcome," she motioned to the living room where a few others were seated, "where's Kurt?"

Finn moved further inside, "uh, we went in different cars. He wanted to make a stop somewhere, but didn't say where. He said he'd be here soon."

...

Time ticked closer to four-thirty and everyone had finally arrived, except Quinn. Kurt was telling everyone how Dave Karofsky was doing, because he had stopped to see him at the hospital and Will was telling everyone that Sue had offered to help them work on their routines for Nationals, and no one had any idea where Quinn was.

"Did anyone talk to Quinn? Because I know she said she was coming over when I left school," Rachel admitted. When no one had an answer for her, Rachel picked up her phone and sent a text message to her, "_where are you? Everyone is here, but you._"

Before she could say what she had done, Quinn responded with, "_sorry! Lost track of time. Leaving home now._"

Rachel relayed the information and then laughed at the guys, "boys, save some for the rest of us," she commented, seeing Puck, Finn, Mike, Rory, Artie, Blaine and Kurt all sitting closer to the food table.

"Maybe you girls should come get some before we eat it all then," Puck retorted with a smile, "and tell Quinn she better get here soon or the food will be gone.

Taking the hint, the girls got up and moved to get some food and Rachel hit the reply button on her phone, "_the guys say hurry so you don't miss out on the food. We have plenty, but they're sitting around the table. Hope you make it soon!_"

Just as Rachel went to set her phone down, it beeped and she looked at Quinn's response, "_on my way._" With a nod to the message, she set her phone down and skipped over to get something eat, totally oblivious to just what happened when Quinn sent that message.

...

Shout out to **youhadmeatmashup** for help with some of the gift ideas!

...

A/N4: I thought I'd be able to fit '3x15 - Big Brother' into this chapter, as well, but after getting a portion of the chapter written and because of everything that happened in '3x14 - On My Way', I felt it should have it's own chapter. It also was kind of 'Finn/Rachel' heavy, so there was more to alter and I wanted to show more Puckleberry moments in it, since their friendship is building. I hope you all enjoyed! Review and let me know!

A/N5: This fic actually came to me suddenly, like a week ago, and I couldn't shake the thoughts, so I just went with it. My other fics will continue to get updated on a regular basis, and I have decided that after I finish up altering the aired episodes, I'll wait until the next aired one is on before I write anything for it, that way I can keep it as close to the real show as possible.

A/N5: Thank you everyone for your reviews, alerts, and favorites. It really means a lot and hope you continue to enjoy it! I really appreciate all of my readers, those of you who have been with me for years and all my new ones, too! You're all awesome! Puckleberry forever! I'll always ship and write them, so don't worry about me stopping!

**Next up:** '3x15 - Big Brother' and possibly '3x16 - Saturday Night Glee-ver'

...


	3. Part 3: '3x15 Big Brother'

Title: Breakaway, Part 3/?

**Spoilers:** This part to '3x15 - Big Brother'; whole series will be through the Glee season 3 finale.

Disclaimer1: I don't own Glee, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N1: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

Disclaimer2: Title from one of my favorite Kelly Clarkson songs 'Breakaway'. Just borrowing. I don't own!

...

Disclaimer3: Any familiar lines from the episode listed have been underlined... Just borrowing them! I don't own!

A/N3: Since Glee went on a hiatus between 'On My Way' and 'Big Brother' and 'Big Brother' returned with about the same amount of time passing as the Glee hiatus was, I added in a short summary to tie the two episodes together, so it doesn't just start like 'Big Brother'.

...

After New Directions won at Regionals in mid-February, their celebrations were cut short when they found out that Quinn had gotten into a car accident on the way to Rachel's party. The teens were notified while still at Rachel's party, by Sue, who had been called by Quinn's mom to let her know what happened. Sue then passed on the information to Will, who was at Rachel's.

Quinn was kept in the ICU for several days and the hospital suggested she not have many visitors, except immediate family, so Judy promised to keep Sue informed, so she in turn, kept her friends up-to-date. After being monitored, to make sure she didn't have any brain trauma or internal bleeding that hadn't come up when she was first brought into the ER, and because none showed up, she was moved into a regular room at the hospital, but still didn't want visitors. She kept in touch with her friends through text messages and did appreciate the flowers they were all sending, but still asked them to not visit her, because she needed to deal with what happened and wasn't emotionally ready for them to see her yet.

Respecting her wishes, and taking her suggestion to get things back to as normal as possible, New Directions pressed on as best they could, missing her and wishing she'd tell them why she didn't want anyone to visit her. It was about five weeks after her accident and a few weeks since she'd been home, when she finally reached out to Artie and he passed on briefly why she hadn't wanted any visitors. The injuries she'd gotten during the accident had left her in a wheelchair. Given that Artie had the most experience dealing with it, he was able to continue her healing, mostly her mental state, now that her scrapes, cuts and bruises had mostly healed from the accident. Artie didn't tell the club much, because he didn't feel it was his place to give all the information and promised that once Quinn returned to school, she'd explain everything.

...

Rachel turned to music to deal with her emotions from everything going on and got help from Puck. She was testing out a whole bunch of songs for her NYADA audition and Puck joined her most days, playing the music with his guitar or on the piano as she practiced. She definitely appreciated the help and it gave them more time to spend together, getting to know more about each other. As much as she tried, she couldn't stop the romantic feelings that continued to grow for him, because she really enjoyed being friends with him and she was worried that if they did try a relationship, it would be over by graduation. They had yet to talk about his future plans and she wasn't sure if he'd consider joining her in New York, so they could be together and not have a long distance relationship.

Rachel's 'Secret Admirer' started leaving simple notes in her locker every few days. Most of the time they were typed out on an index card or a piece of paper and the messages were just inspirational quotes or words of encouragement. She loved the messages and had been saving every one of them, but she still had yet to figure out who it was. The only things she'd learned about the mysterious person was that it was a 'he' and he was a Senior at McKinley. She knew that information narrowed it down a lot, but there were still a lot of guys at McKinley in the Senior class. Remembering Puck's suggestion to have an adventure, she didn't try to seek out who it was, knowing they'd show themselves when they were ready and she settled for the mystery, but hoped she could find out.

A few times, her 'Secret Admirer' had even left gifts of sheet music for various songs in her locker, with a note that she should try them for her audition to NYADA. The songs were all perfect for her vocal range and ones she'd either heard on the radio or was familiar with, so she happily tried them out and added them to the large stack of ideas for her audition.

...

Puck liked spending time with Rachel. It was nice to have a girl as a friend, but he had his own romantic feelings building for her. He knew her reasons for breaking up with Finn, so he did his best to keep everything in the 'just friends' department. He wanted her to go to New York and become the star she always dreamed of being and he was afraid he'd only hold her back from that, so he settled to stay friends and wanted to just enjoy the time they had hanging out together.

He wouldn't admit it often, but he also enjoyed playing music on the piano and guitar. He'd known how to play for a long time, but it wasn't until joining the Glee Club, that he showed that side of himself to others. During their time spent together, Rachel was always complimenting him on how well he played and how awesome he was at being able to look at the new music she gave him and follow along on the first attempt. He'd picked up playing the piano and guitar as just hobbies, but to have someone who was as talented as she was, recognize his abilities meant a lot to him.

...

**3x15 - Big Brother**

...

It's now early-April, about three weeks since the club found out about Quinn being in a wheelchair and she was finally returning to school. Everyone in the club had slowly moved on from her accident, but with news that she was returning, it brought up a lot of the emotions they'd pushed aside.

After one of Rachel's classes, Puck met up with her, "hey Rachel."

Rachel smiled at him, "hey Noah. How was class?"

"It was okay," he shrugged, "I've been thinking about something," he admitted.

"Oh yeah? What is it?" She wondered.

"Well, we've been working on music for a few months now. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally enjoying helping you out and all that, but every week you add two or three new songs to your pile of 'maybes' for your audition song. It's coming up in what? A month? I'm no expert, but shouldn't you start narrowing down your ideas, not adding to them? Don't you need to focus on one or two to have ready?" He asked curiously.

Rachel thought for a moment as they came to a stop at her locker, "well, the additional songs are helping me work on my vocal range, but you are right. I should pick just a few, but nothing has stood out to me yet. The songs I've collected are wonderful, though."

"Yeah, I get that, and that doesn't mean you can't learn them all at some point, but I know in Glee we're always practicing songs for weeks before competition and this is like a competition, right?"

Taking a deep breath, Rachel nodded, "yes, in a way it is," she agreed, pushing her books into her locker, "I guess I haven't been totally on my game. I... With Quin returning today, I can't stop thinking about her. She's..."

"Right behind you," Puck admitted, glancing around her and seeing Quinn wheeling down the hallway with Artie only a few feet from her.

Rachel turned around and smiled, "hey Quinn!"

"Hey, Rachel, Puck," Quinn nodded and smiled at them.

"Sup, Quinn," Puck waved at her.

"Welcome back," Rachel said, "how are you?"

Quinn took a deep breath, "believe it or not, this is the happiest day of my life," she admitted. "I could have easily become one of those creepy memorial pages in the yearbook, but by the Grace of God I'm here. Artie has helped me realize that even if it's not ideal, I'm lucky to be alive. We've actually got something to show the club," she glanced at Artie, "come on, Artie. I'll race you to the choir room," she added, taking off down the hallway.

Artie laughed, but began to follow her and Rachel and Puck watched as they rolled away, "wow. That, um... Was that really Quinn?" Puck asked.

"I think so. Come on," Rachel turned around, closed her locker and took his hand, leading him in the same direction as Artie and Quinn had just gone.

...

Rachel and Puck were the last to arrive in the choir room, so they took seats in the front row, next to each other and once everyone had a chance to welcome Quinn back, she and Artie began singing the song 'I'm Still Standing' by Elton John, while rolling around on the floor in the room.

When they finished, Quinn settled her wheelchair in front of everyone, "here's a lesson for your board, Mr. Schue. Don't text and drive. Ever. It's the stupidest thing I've ever done; besides sleeping with Puck," she smirked and glanced at him.

Puck's shocked expression mixed with a smile and he just laughed it off, having had a good idea that's how she always felt.

Quinn took a deep breath, "there's a lot of rumors floating around, so let's clear the air. First of all, all my plumbing still works, which is awesome. My spine was severely compressed in the car accident, which basically means I can't move my feet or legs, but, the good thing is that I'm starting to regain feeling, so with a lot of physical therapy and your prayers, I stand a good chance at a full recovery," she explained, smiling at everyone, "thank you for respecting my wishes about no visitors. I do appreciate all the messages and phone calls we shared, along with all the gifts and help gathering up notes and homework so I could keep up with my classes. When I first found out what happened, I was embarrassed. I didn't want anyone to know, but between doctor's visits, extra trips to church and Artie, they've helped me realize that I'm still alive and I should be thankful for that, so I'm not going to sit around and feel sorry for myself and I don't want any of you to feel sorry for me, either," she shared a glance with everyone, "I'm happy and I want us to keep things as normal as possible and I also want you guys to be happy for me, too," she blushed, "oh and I apologize for the number. My dance moves aren't as smooth as Artie's yet."

Artie laughed, "with practice, they will be," he assured her.

"We really missed you, Quinn," Rachel said honestly.

Quinn smiled at her and nodded, "I missed you guys, too. I promise that by the time we go to Nationals, I'll be out of this chair and dancing on that stage," she said truthfully

...

Through Rachel was not ready to just forget what happened, she along with the rest of the teens happily welcomed Quinn back and tried their best to get back to a normal 'routine'. After school, Rachel and Puck returned to the auditorium to work for a while on her songs, "I can't believe she expects us to just go on like nothing happened," Rachel admitted, having held her feelings in for as long as she could.

Puck straddled the piano bench and looked at her, patting the bench and when she took a seat, he spoke, "I don't think she wants us to forget. I think she just doesn't want anyone to give her any special treatment because she's in a wheelchair. It's a shock. I mean, it's all everyone is talking about," he motioned out towards the hallways of the school.

"I know," Rachel nodded, "but how can things ever be the same?"

"I don't know, Rachel, but it's her life and it's what she wants. We can't change it so we can only keep moving on," he told her.

Rachel sighed and nodded, "I know, but I can't just turn off my emotions. When it first happened it took me a while to really get over it to focus. I just need some time," she replied softly.

Puck rested his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently, "then that's what you'll get," he assured her.

"Thanks," Rachel smiled.

"You're welcome," he replied.

Rachel took a moment to breathe, relax and gather her thoughts. Even the simple, friendly touch of his hand on her shoulder made her whole body spark with a desire for more, but she was trying to keep things friendly between them, so she pushed her feelings aside for the moment, "I was thinking about what you said this morning before Glee. About picking a song. You're right. I need to start narrowing down my choices. I was thinking of maybe doing that now."

"Okay, sounds good," he shrugged, "you know I'll help however I can."

...

Quinn returned to school on a Thursday and when everyone came back on Friday, it was a little easier for them to see her in a wheelchair. Rachel and Puck spent some of their lunch time and after school again in the auditorium, working on eliminating songs from her pile and were slowly making progress. The music was definitely helping Rachel and both of them enjoyed spending the time together.

Rachel and Puck kept their relationship at school, for the most part. Sometimes they'd go out with a group of friends, but they didn't seem to venture to their homes. Puck liked to be out of his house, having a younger sister and he knew if he brought Rachel home, his mom would be planning their wedding, so he steered clear, at least for a while. Puck had gone to her house a few times, but they stayed in her living room. After the break-up with Finn, even though it'd been over two and a half months since it happened, she just wasn't ready to be inviting another guy into her room and Puck understood that. He definitely wasn't pushing her into anything.

Puck had a few pools to clean over the weekend, which he just cleaned and offered a few flirty looks and comments to his cougars, but he was just wasn't into _that_ anymore. Ever since he and Rachel had gotten closer as friends, he was finding that it just felt wrong to do anything else. He knew they weren't a couple, so it wasn't like he was 'cheating', but he still felt bad and knew that was because of all the feelings he was building for Rachel and the ones for her that he'd hidden for a long time. They were finally surfacing and taking over, but he tried to keep them to himself, because he didn't want to scare or worry Rachel; at least until he could figure things out for himself. He also had a business idea he wanted to think on that could help him in with a future.

...

Returning to a new week of school, things were slowly getting back to normal. It was still hard for everyone to see Quinn in a wheelchair, but it was getting easier. During Glee, Will reminded the teens that after school was 'Booty Camp' in the auditorium, so Puck and Rachel agreed to meet during their lunch to continue working on her song selections, since they wouldn't be able to after school.

"So how are you doing?" Puck asked, since he hadn't been able to talk to her yet that morning.

"I'm better. Every day gets easier. How are you? Did you have a good weekend?" She wondered.

"Yeah, I guess. Had some pools to clean. Nothing major," he shrugged, "and I just cleaned them," he added, glancing at her.

Rachel blushed, because everyone knew Puck's 'pool cleaning business' was usually more than just that. It was also a reason why she was hesitant to attempt a relationship with him, but trusted that if they did have one, one day, he'd be faithful, but knew at that moment they were just friends, "I believe you, but you don't have to defend yourself to me. I think everyone knows how your business started, but I'd like to think that if you did find a relationship with someone, you'd be faithful to whoever that ends up being," she explained.

"Damn right," he nodded, "yeah, I know I've made some mistakes in the past, but if I got with someone, I definitely wouldn't cheat on them," he promised.

His words made Rachel smile and also helped ease some of her worries, "that's very good to know, Noah."

...

Stopping at her locker after school, Rachel found another note from her 'Secret Admirer'. "_You're beautiful, just the way you are,_" was all it said. She smiled and slid it into her bag before collecting her things and making her way to the auditorium to change for 'Booty Camp'.

Will's idea to start 'Booty Camp' was decent. It gave the teens additional time to work on and learn their dance moves for competitions, but Sue surprised them that day. After Regionals, she'd offered to help the club work on their routines for Nationals and had decided to take over 'Booty Camp'. She spent the whole time yelling and insulting them and by the time she called it a day, and stormed out of the auditorium, everyone was in a bad mood. "I'm so emailing Mr. Schuester about this!" Kurt snapped.

...

"Oh my God! You guys are never going to believe who Blaine's brother is!" Kurt exclaimed as he met the other Glee Seniors in the library for a meeting the next day before Glee.

"Who is it?" Tina asked, being the only non-Senior there, with Mike.

"Cooper Anderson! The guy from the 'Free Credit Rating Today' commercials!" He said quickly, clapping his hands

Puck and Finn exchanged glances as the girls, Kurt and even Mike all got excited and started asking Kurt questions about how he found out, "hey! Hold up. We can talk about that later," Puck waved his hand, "we all know why we're here," he glanced around, "I want ideas for Senior Ditch Day. Go!"

Kurt suggested a scavenger hunt and Mike suggested a marathon of the two Footloose movies. Because it was Spring, Brittany wanted to see something be born and Mercedes suggested a 'non-alcoholic pub crawl', "guys, I want actual ideas. It's Senior Ditch Day, not Senior Citizens Ditch Day," Puck commented from where he was sitting on the back of one of the chairs.

Rachel had been listening to their ideas and couldn't keep her eyes from glancing at Quinn who was sitting a few feet away, in her wheelchair. The emotions she'd been holding in for quite a while finally broke the surface and she choked out, "Quinn, I'm sorry," she started, fighting the tears she knew would spill soon, "it was my party you were going to when you got into your car crash and you were answering my text message. Now we're all sitting here," she motioned around, "talking about this day that's supposed to be the most amazing and unforgettable day of our high school lives and we're," she paused, tears falling, "we're completely ignoring the fact that she's sitting in that chair!" She looked around at everyone, who were all biting their lips and averting their gaze to the floor. Rachel looked at Quinn, "it's not right. It shouldn't be like this."

Quinn sighed, trying her best to not let things bother her and to be as normal as possible, "maybe not, but this is the way it is," she said honestly, "my accident, which you did not cause, by the way," she looked at Rachel, "does not define me. It's also not going to ruin our last year of high school. I'm here and I meant what I said in the choir room. I'm not going to dwell on this and neither should any of you. Okay?" Quinn could see Rachel was still upset, so she motioned to her to come towards her.

Getting up, Rachel walked towards Quinn and she couldn't help more tears falling as she hugged her, "I feel so bad," Rachel murmured.

"I appreciate your concern, I really do, but you have nothing to feel bad about, okay?" Quinn eyed her as they pulled apart, but she kept a hold of Rachel's hand, glancing around at the others, "now, we are ditching as planned. I think we should go to Six Flags," she commented.

Puck felt bad that Rachel had gotten upset, but he also expected it. She'd been bottling things up since Quinn was first in the accident and knew she'd eventually crack, but he was glad Quinn was there to help settle Rachel down. With everyone agreeing and liking the idea of going to the amusement park, Puck smiled, "Lady Fabray has chosen wisely. Six Flags it is. Meeting adjourned!" He clapped his hands and stood up as everyone cheered and began filing out of the library, "hey Finn, could you hang back for a sec?" He asked before Finn got too far away.

"Yeah, sure, Puck, what's up?" Finn wondered.

"I've been thinking about something. Well, actually I got the idea this weekend while I was cleaning pools," he admitted.

Finn nodded, "okay..."

"Lima's only got 22 pools and I clean twenty of them. It's great for a young guy just needing some cash to buy things on once and a while, but it's not enough to live on. This weekend I realized that I could expand my pool cleaning business. Southern California has 800-freaking-thousand. I Googled it. So after graduation, I'm thinking about moving to LA," Puck smiled, "and I want you to be my business partner."

"Wow! Dude, I'm so honored that you'd even consider me, but I don't know if I want to move to LA. At least not right now," Finn admitted, "can I think on it for a while?"

"Yeah, totally," Puck nodded, knowing it wasn't something he could decide over night and Puck himself wasn't even fully sure that he wanted to move to LA, either. He just knew college wasn't for him and figured since he knew about cleaning pools, he could at least move somewhere that had more, so he could turn his business into a legitimate one.

As the two guys began walking out of the library, Puck remembered something, "while you're thinking, could you do me a favor? Um, you know that blond on Sycamore Street that likes to mow her lawn in tube tops?"

Finn smirked, but nodded, "yeah, Mrs. Tennison?"

"Yeah, well, her jacuzzi is busted, so I thought since you know so much about motors you could take a look at it. Help me out," Puck admitted. "I'm going over to her place tomorrow after school."

"I can probably help you with that," Finn agreed.

"Cool, thanks," Puck replied.

...

The teens moved into the choir room to find that Sue had invited Blaine's brother to come talk to them. Blaine was not happy about his brother being there and Puck and Finn were not super impressed with him, but everyone enjoyed the mash-up of the two Duran Duran songs that Cooper and Blaine ended up doing.

When Glee was over, the teens got on with their day and Rachel and Puck met in the auditorium again during lunch, "it's so cool that Blaine's brother is on TV. I'm looking forward to listening to what he has to say tomorrow in the class he's doing."

"Yeah, it's cool, but you don't need his advice, you already know what to do," Puck commented, looking at her.

Rachel blushed at his compliment, "thank you, Noah, but it never hurts to hear someone's perspective on the business," she admitted, "are you coming to his class tomorrow?"

"I don't know. Seems kind of lame to me," he replied honestly.

"Oh, come on, Noah, please?" She asked, slipping her arm around his shoulders.

Puck glanced at her, "alright, fine, I'll come if you want me there so badly, but doesn't mean I'm gonna like it."

"Awesome!" Rachel grinned.

...

Spending their lunch and a a few hours after school working on music, Rachel was finally narrowing her options, but she was far from picking the song she wanted to audition with.

Returning on school the next day, the teens headed into the choir room at Glee's usual time and Cooper was already there, ready to give them all the 'tips' he could about being 'famous'. His first bit of advice was that going to college was a 'waste of time' and he also said not to bother going to New York because Broadway was 'lame'. Rachel and Kurt exchanged upset glances, but everyone let him continue, talking about how to pose for photos and different 'techniques' to make them seem more into the role they were playing.

Blaine was disagreeing with everything his brother was trying to tell them and Puck sat in the back row, totally not into what Cooper was saying. Puck had no interest in going into acting of any kind and was only there because Rachel wanted him to be there. No matter what Cooper said, everyone enjoyed it and cheered him on, but both Puck and Blaine sat back and just tried to ignore him.

"Okay guys, I don't want you to go cray-cray, but I brought in sides, industry term, from a little show that I auditioned for last week, called NCIS," Cooper commented, pulling out small pieces of paper from his bag.

"Oh wow! My nana loves that show," Puck admitted, "and so do I," he added, getting up as everyone began to move to the center of the classroom, now a little more interested in what Cooper was saying.

Tina offered to play the 'dead' body, so she laid on the floor and Blaine and Rachel were given the sheets for the two agents and Cooper started to 'direct' them while the teens gathered around them, some sitting and Puck opted to stand. "Now, in this scene Agent Sciuto..." Cooper started.

"Who the fuck is that?" Puck asked, hearing an incorrect name for characters he knew from watching the show with his nana.

"Agent Sciuto is one of the investigators on NCIS," Cooper said, turning to Puck.

"No, she's not," Puck replied, "that character's name is Abby Sciuto and she's not an agent. She's the coolest forensic scientist on the planet, dude."

"Noah!" Rachel hissed, stepping over to him, "stop it. Cooper is being nice enough to offer all of us some advice and you're embarrassing yourself."

"Embarrassing myself? Yeah right. I've only been watching NCIS since I was a kid with my nana. There's no such character as 'Agent Sciuto', so if anyone should be embarrassed, it's him. He obviously doesn't do his homework on shows he auditions for," he said, looking at Cooper, then turned to Blaine, "Blaine, I've got respect for you, dude, but I'm out. This is a joke," he motioned around the room, before heading for the door.

...

Puck knew Rachel would be pissed at him for walking out of class, but he didn't care. He wasn't going to sit around and listen to any more of Cooper's lame comments about acting. As he reached his locker, he heard his name and turned around to see Rachel coming towards him. "I knew you'd follow me," he laughed lightly.

"What was that back there, Noah?" Rachel demanded.

"I told you yesterday that you don't need that, Rachel, and he's a joke. If he's such a great actor, why is he only in a series of thirty-second TV commercials?" He asked, and when she didn't respond he continued, "because it's all he's been able to get and I can't believe you were all sitting in there taking notes like he's an expert. I'm surprised you and Kurt even cared to listen to him after he said not to bother going to college or New York. The two places you two _are_ going," he told her.

"Well, everyone is entitled to their opinion," Rachel commented, but with what he said, she slowly began to understand what he was saying, "I do suppose you are right. Maybe he doesn't know as much as he wants us to believe."

Puck rested his hands on her shoulders, "Rachel, you're going to be a star and advice is good, but you've got everything you need to make it, okay? Don't ever let anyone tell you differently."

Rachel smiled at him and slid her arms around his waist, "thank you, Noah," she murmured, "and I didn't know you liked that show."

"No problem," he replied, hugging her, "and yes, I do like NCIS. My nana got me into watching it and I know the characters names, so it pissed me off."

She laughed lightly, but nodded, "he was wrong, actually. The papers said a different name, anyway," she replied, "I was supposed to be reading something for an 'Agent David'," she admitted.

"Actually her name is pronounced 'Da-veed'. Ziva David. She's awesome; very bad ass and is Jewish, so she's even cooler," he explained with a wink.

"Oh really? I may just have to watch an episode and see about her," Rachel grinned.

"My nana has all the seasons on DVD that are out. I can borrow a few if you ever did want to watch them," he told her, "now, do you wanna meet during lunch today? Finn and I have a pool to clean after school," he admitted.

"You and Finn?" She wondered, "that's new."

"He knows about motors and someone's jacuzzi motor isn't working right, so I asked him to help fix it. I don't know much about them," he explained, not wanting to tell her the rest right now; he still hadn't figured out everything yet.

"Oh, alright. Yes, lunch time sounds great," she nodded.

...

Working for a little while in the auditorium with Rachel at lunch, the two went their separate ways afterward. They passed each other in the hall a few times, but since they didn't have any classes together, their contact was limited. At the end of the day, they talked briefly and then he and Finn headed off, agreeing to meet at Mrs. Tennison's house in a little bit, because Finn had to go home to get his tools.

When the two guys arrived, Puck showed Finn to her backyard and motioned to the jacuzzi while Puck started cleaning and the two got to work. "So have you done any thinking on what I asked you?" Puck wondered, glancing over at Finn.

"Yeah, kinda. I don't know, man. That's just a big move with no guarantees," Finn admitted, testing a few things to see if he could figure out the problem.

"Nothing in life is a total guarantee. I mean, things change all the time, but at least in California there's job security. People will always have pools," Puck replied.

"That is true," Finn agreed. "I really like working at the shop and with Burt back and forth to DC a lot, I think he likes knowing I'm there to keep an eye on things. I don't know, I still need more time."

"Alright," Puck nodded in agreement, knowing he also needed more time, but hoped if Finn wanted to, then he'd feel more comfortable about making a big move like that.

A few more minutes passed and Finn found the problem and began fixing it, at the same time as Mrs. Tennison brought out a tray of with glasses and a pitcher of lemonade on it, "hey boys. I didn't know you were in business together," she admitted.

"We're thinking about it," Puck replied.

"Yeah," Finn nodded, "and this was just a busted control panel, Mrs. Tennison. Nothing too serious."

"You're a life saver," she smiled at Finn, "and if you guys do decide to go into business together and need any investors, I'd love to be a silent partner," she commented, handing Finn a glass of lemonade, "or a noisy one," she winked at Finn, before turning and moving back into the house.

Finn's mouth fell open in shock and turned to look at Puck, "did she just..."

"Yep," Puck nodded, "happens all the time," Puck moved closer to Finn, "and if we went to Cali, imagine the women who'd be flirting with us," he grinned.

"Wow," Finn murmured, realizing now that he was single, there was a whole world of women out there he could pursue.

...

The next day at school, the teens were all getting excited for Friday, the next day, because they were all heading to Six Flags for Senior Skip Day. A few of the non-Seniors in the Glee Club were also going along, but Quinn and Artie had decided on a different location for their fun, opting out of the amusement park with the others.

Rachel and Puck worked during lunch and a little after school on her songs. She'd finally gotten her options down to five songs, but she still hadn't completely decided, so they agreed to work on each one a little to see which one she'd feel more comfortable doing.

When Friday arrived, the teens met at a public parking lot to leave their cars and piled on a city bus that went out to the amusement park, so they didn't have to all pay for parking. Once they got there, and because Sugar's dad was 'rich', she'd already ordered their tickets, so they quickly got into the gates of the park.

The group all headed right for one of the roller coasters and piled on one of them. Everyone enjoyed the thrill of the ups and downs, twists and turns and when it was over, the guys wanted to go again, but the girls decided to move on to some of the less stomach twisting rides.

After a while of getting the rides out of their system, the teens met up for lunch and then moved onto all the games. When Rachel saw all the stuffed animal prizes and knowing she wouldn't be very good at the games, she begged Puck to win some of them for her.

Puck had come prepared with a large wad of cash in his wallet to play the games, wanting to win some of the stuffed animal prizes for Rachel, and he was happy when she asked him to. The games were easy and some were rigged, but Puck had a pretty good aim with a baseball, darts and rings to throw or toss them at the targets and within a half an hour, he'd already won several small prizes.

"These are so adorable!" Rachel admitted, hugging the four stuffed animals to her chest.

"Yeah, they're cool," Puck shrugged, draping his arm around her shoulders.

"Thank you," she smiled at him, "for winning these for me. There's no way I'd have been able to do that."

"It's okay. I don't mind winning them for you," he returned her smile and motioned to another game, "I'm pretty good at that one."

"Okay!" Rachel nodded and saw a cute animal she wanted, "do you think you could win that one?" She wondered.

Puck smirked, but nodded at her, "yeah, I can."

...

By the end of the day, Puck had won Rachel over ten stuffed animals. Some where larger than others, because he'd been able to win games multiple times, so he could 'upgrade' some of the smaller toys for larger ones. Both had fun. He was happy to see her smiling and skipping around, snacking on cotton candy and joking around with their friends.

Rachel had a blast at the park. She loved all the toys Puck had won for her and even though they weren't a couple and were out with a bunch of their friends, part of her felt like it was kind of a date; or at least it would be like a date he might take her on, if they ever did go out. Spending the day with all of her friends was fun and even though she didn't want to give up any of her stuffed animals, Kurt begged her for one of them, to give to Blaine, since he had opted to not join them on their trip.

Their adventure at Six Flags ended a little after four when the teens piled onto the bus that took them back to the parking lot they'd all met at to get their cars. Once they were off the bus, Puck walked Rachel to her car, because he'd been helping her carry her new stuffed animals.

"Thank you, Noah. For winning me all of these," she smiled happily, laying the toys into her trunk once she opened it.

"You're welcome. You had fun today, right?" He asked hopeful.

"I did! I'm normally not one to miss school, but this was definitely worth it," she replied, "did you?"

"Yeah. I've ditched school in the past, but this was the first time I've actually gone somewhere with friends to ditch. And I'm glad I had someone to win stuff for. Well, last time I was here I had my sister, so I did win her some things, but it's not the same," he admitted.

Rachel smiled at him, "I haven't seen you interact with your sister, but I bet you're an amazing brother to her."

He shrugged, "yeah, I guess. She's a pain sometimes, but I do love her. Ever since my dad took off I've tried to be better with her and my mom. I know I've given my mom a lot of problems in the past, but we've worked through them."

"I'm glad you have. You've matured a lot over the time that I've known you, too, Noah. You're a good person, a good man, under your mohawk and bad ass tendencies," she explained, reaching up to brush her fingers over his styled mohawk and scalp.

Puck couldn't help the blush grow on his cheeks from her compliment and her simple touch on his head, "you really mean that?"

"Yes, I do," she nodded, "because I've witnessed the good in you."

"Thanks, Rach. That means a lot," he smiled, unable to deny the sparks building in him from her brief touch.

Standing up on her tip toes, Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, "you're welcome, Noah," she said truthfully, soaking in how amazing she felt hugging him and knew she wanted to be with him, but she'd have to do some more thinking before she brought it up to him; also a small part of her still feared he wouldn't feel the same way.

Surprised, but welcoming her hug, Puck slid his arms around her petite body and held her close. His thoughts began racing a mile a minute as they continued to touch and the longer he remained in the embrace, the clearer some of his thoughts became. He wanted to be with her, somehow, so he'd have to make some decisions about his life soon, because he didn't want to lose her and he knew if he waited too much longer he just might.

...

Having spent the whole Friday together, aside from some messages exchanged between friends, none of the Glee Club saw each other until they returned to school on Monday. The day was mostly like normal, Glee met before lunch and everyone was talking about how much fun they'd had on Friday.

After Glee, Puck and Rachel spent some of their lunch break in the auditorium working on her music, but afterward, between one of her classes, Quinn caught up with Rachel. "Rachel," Quinn said, coming to a stop next to her.

"Hey, Quinn, how are you?" She asked, closing her locker.

"I'm doing alright. I have a question for you," Quinn admitted, "I obviously haven't been back for a long time, but I've noticed that you and Puck are spending a lot of time together."

"We are," Rachel nodded, "we've become pretty good friends and he's helping me pick a song for my audition for NYADA," she explained.

"Oh, so that's why you two have been in the auditorium a lot," Quinn nodded, "I was thinking there was more going on... Is there?"

Rachel blushed, "no, there isn't," she replied.

"But you want something to happen, don't you?" Quinn grinned.

Unable to deny her feelings, she nodded, "yes. I know you said I could have a relationship until school gets out and I shouldn't go to New York with someone, but Noah's... I really like him, I really care about him and I have feelings for him," she admitted, "I want something more with him."

"Does he know you do?" Quinn wondered.

"I don't know. I know we've expressed that we enjoy being friends, and he was there for me after Finn and I split up, so he's helped me through the rough times with that, and then," she bit her lip, "with what happened to you, but we've never discussed anything more, except that we want to be friends after graduation."

Quinn nodded in understanding, "look, I stand by what I said. You have a bright future ahead of you and Finn would have only held you back. He's not the type of guy for you. Honestly, he's not a 'get out of Lima' type of guy. He's not a big city person and that's what you need. That's why I said what I did, because Finn would probably have gotten to New York, freaked out and wanted to go home, and at the time, I think you would have followed him," she took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts, "you need someone who dreams of getting out of here and doing something with their life. I know Puck has had his issues in the past, but seeing him with Beth and knowing that he does want to get out of Lima, I know he's a good person and he could do something with his life, if he sets his mind on it. I also think Puck could handle himself well in a big city," she paused, "I see the way he looks at you. He has feelings for you, too, and I think he really cares about you. I know you're not asking for my advice, but if you have feelings for Puck, which you obviously do, then I say, test the waters, or at least maybe bring up him going to New York with you to see what he says. I'm not sure what he could do, but I'm sure you could come up with something," Quinn admitted.

Listening to what Quinn said, Rachel had an idea and smiled at her, "that helps me a lot, Quinn," she leaned down and gave her a hug, "you always know what to say when I need some advice. Thank you."

"No problem. That's what friends are for, right?" Quinn smiled.

Rachel nodded at her, "right."

...

Through the rest of school, Rachel's mind kept replaying what Quinn said and she did have a great idea. When the school day ended, Rachel found another inspirational quote in her locker from her 'Secret Admirer' and happily collected her things and headed to the auditorium to change into her workout clothes for 'Booty Camp'. When she was done, she grabbed her phone and found a seat on the piano bench, out of the way, to reply to a few text messages and play a game while she waited for the others to show up.

"Kurt, what would you think if I moved to LA after graduation?" Finn asked as the two guys walked into the auditorium, having changed in the guys locker room with the others.

Rachel knew they didn't see her yet and she didn't mean to overhear them, but when she did, she couldn't help listening curiously.

"LA? As in Los Angeles, California?" Kurt asked surprised, "where the hell did that come from?"

"Puck is thinking about moving there to expand his pool cleaning business and make it legit, you know? California does have a lot of pools that would need cleaning," Finn explained, "and he asked me to join him."

"What about my dad's garage? He loves you working there and I thought you liked it, too," Kurt commented.

"I do like working there, but I don't know if I want to do that forever and Puck's plan does sound promising," Finn admitted.

"_California? Pool cleaning business? Noah never said anything to me about this. I'm glad he's thinking about post-graduation plans, but this definitely changes my idea of asking him to move to New York with me. I need to talk to him after practice and figure out what's going on,_" Rachel thought, hearing more voices and saw Tina and Mercedes walking in, so Finn and Kurt quit talking about it.

...

During 'Booty Camp', Quinn had invited Joe Hart join them, the Sophomore who had first gotten to know them by singing Vocal Valentines to people around Valentine's Day with Sam, Mercedes and Quinn, and everyone welcomed him to the club.

Having heard news the previous week from Becky, the teens of New Directions knew that Sue was having a baby girl and her baby had Downs Syndrome. Sue didn't talk too much on it, but she did confirm what they'd heard and she admitted she hoped some of the teens positivity would rub off on her baby, so she wouldn't be as harsh as Sue could be at times. She apologized a little for the way she'd acted the previous week, but admitted she wanted to help them win Nationals, by using her knowledge from years of having winning cheerleading teams. She promised them she'd be nicer, as long as they promised to work as hard as they could.

The teens accepted her apology and promised to work as hard as they could, because they were all hoping to win at Nationals to beat their biggest competition, Vocal Adrenaline.

Once the talking was out of the way, they started practicing and with everything going on, Rachel hoped to keep her mind off of the conversation she wanted to have with Puck, but it kept inching it's way to the front of her mind. She danced near him a few times and smiled, trying not to give off a negative vibe, so he didn't suspect something was wrong.

...

Making it through practice without Puck picking up on anything going on, when it was over, the guys headed back to the locker room to change and Rachel and some of the girls went to where they'd changed backstage, before leaving for the day. Rachel hoped to catch Puck before he left, so she stashed her bag in her locker with the rest of her things and went in search of him. She expected to find him by the guys locker room, but when she turned down the hallway where his locker was located, she found him changed and getting his backpack from his locker, "hey, Noah," she greeted him.

"Hey, Rachel. What are you still doing here? I figured you'd be on your way home by now," he admitted, surprised to see her.

"Well, I wanted to talk you about something, so I was hoping to catch you before you went home," she said.

"Yeah? What's up?" He wondered, closing his locker and leaning against it.

"Well, I hope you don't get mad at me, but I overheard Finn and Kurt talking before practice started earlier. I was surprised, because you hadn't said anything to me, but they were talking about Finn going to LA after graduation. Kurt was shocked and wanted to know where Finn got the idea and Finn explained that you were thinking about it moving to LA to get a pool cleaning business going with him," she explained.

"You heard about that?" Puck sighed, "yeah, I asked Finn last week and he said he'd think on it and I'm still not totally sure I'm gonna do it. That's why I haven't said anything to you, because nothing is for sure. It was just something I thought of like two weeks ago and figured we could head there. I don't know," he shrugged, "I'm just trying to come up with options, because I know college is pretty much out of the question for me and I don't want to stay in Lima."

"I see," Rachel said softly, biting her lip, "so you're still just thinking about it?"

"Right," Puck nodded and could tell she had something she wanted to say, "what's on your mind?"

"Well, since we've been talking about being friends after graduation, I was kind of hoping we could be friends in the same town," she admitted, looking at him.

Puck eyed her, having a feeling he knew what she was getting at, "are you asking me to go to New York with you?"

"Yes," she nodded, "well, I'm asking you to at least consider it."

"Wow," Puck started, as his thoughts raced. He'd thought of going to New York with her, because he did have feelings for her, but he didn't know what he'd do there and didn't want to keep her from her dreams, so he'd passed it aside. Now that she was asking him to, he had a question for her, "if I go, what would I do there, though?"

Rachel smiled at him, already having the answer, "Noah, you're very musically talented. You know how to play the guitar and piano. You have an amazing voice and I know that if you put your mind to it, you could be an amazing song writer," she explained, "and while I understand college might not be for you, there are still a lot of opportunities in New York for someone with your skills. You could get a job with a band as a guitarist or a pianist or you could start playing music at open-mic nights to test out your music, which some places let you get tips or could compete in contests for prize money, or so many other things," she told him honestly.

"You really think I'm that good?" He asked surprised, but was happy to see she was trying to get him to decide to join her. He hoped it was because she had more feelings for him than she was letting on, but he didn't want to get his hopes up on that, so he settled to be glad she was trying to help him with his future.

"Yes, I do," she nodded, linking her arm with his and began guiding him down the hallway, "I know you haven't been featured vocally in Glee much, but you've played the guitar many times and I'll never forget our duet. I loved singing with you. Maybe we could do it again."

Puck smiled and nodded at her suggestion, "yeah, I loved our duet, too. I'd definitely like to do that again."

"Awesome!" Rachel grinned, "so will you please think about coming to New York with me?"

Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, he smiled at her and nodded, "yes, I will think about it."

...

Shout out to all of those who have reviewed, favorited and alerted this fic. I'm so happy you all are enjoying it! To the anon reviewers that I can't reply to, thanks for your messages! All of my reviews mean a lot to me!

...

A/N4: Hope you guys enjoyed. Review and let me know, please! I'm having fun writing this. I love my other fics and I will be getting back to them soon, but I just keep getting ideas for this one quickly, so it seems to come out of my brain easier at the moment. Next chapter will be the next episode or possibly the next two. Not sure. It depends. Now that I'm getting into a deeper Puckleberry relationship, I might have more in it. We'll see.

A/N5: Okay, just to clear the air... I have nothing against Matt Bomer, who played Cooper Anderson. I thought he was amazing as Bryce Larkin on Chuck and it's cool that he is playing Blaine's brother. What I was upset about was how they introduced him to the show and something that the writers made him say... I've been a fan of NCIS since day one. Back when they did the 'back door' pilot with two episodes of JAG, which I've watched every season of, too. When I first heard Cooper name drop 'NCIS' I thought it was so cool for it to be mentioned in Glee, because in my fic series 'Out of the Blue', it's one of Puck's favorite shows, but when Cooper said 'Agent Sciuto', I was pissed! Abby Sciuto is NOT an agent. She's a forensic scientist and is AWESOME! I HATE that they used an incorrect name in the show! Now, I'm sure that they may have had some reason why they had to, either for copyright reasons or something else, but it still pisses me off that they name dropped the name of one of my favorite shows and screwed up the name. This is why I had Puck, who really said his nana loved it in the show, add in that he loves it, too, and I let Puck be the one to call out Cooper on his incorrect information, as a way for me to kind of vent my frustration with the show's writers for what they did... Glee airs here at the same time NCIS is on and I usually watch NCIS over Glee and then watch Glee later... I also threw in the info about Ziva, because Puck would definitely think she's awesome. She is Jewish and a bad ass! Anyway, that's why Puck was harsh on Cooper... And since Cooper's story line didn't really involve Puck or Rachel, aside from a few things, that's why he wasn't mentioned much.

**Info and notes on NCIS:**

Abby Sciuto on Wikipedia ( en . wikipedia . org/ wiki/ Abby_Sciuto )

NCIS on IMDB ( imdb . com / title / tt0364845/ )

NCIS on Wikipedia ( en . wikipedia . org/ wiki/ NCIS_(TV_series) )

Ziva David on Wikipedia ( en . wikipedia . org/ wiki/ Ziva_David )

...


	4. Part 4: '3x16' '4a & 4b on LJ'

Title: Breakaway, Part 4/?

**Spoilers:** This part to '3x16 - Saturday Night Glee-ver'; whole series will be through the Glee season 3 finale.

Disclaimer1: I don't own Glee, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N1: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

Disclaimer2: Title from one of my favorite Kelly Clarkson songs 'Breakaway'. Just borrowing. I don't own!

...

Disclaimer3: Any familiar lines from the episode listed have been underlined... Just borrowing them! I don't own!

...

**3x16 - Saturday Night Glee-ver**

...

It all started with Blaine. They'd recently found out that the theme for Nationals would be 'Vintage', so he, Mike and Brittany put together a dance routine to 'You Should Be Dancing' and performed it on a Thursday for the rest of the Glee Club. Will loved it, because when he was in Glee Club in the 1990s, they went all the way to winning Nationals with disco hits, but almost all of the New Directions members hated the idea.

Most of the teens had been against disco, every time Will had suggested it in the past and they hoped they'd heard the last of the music, but as Monday rolled around, the teens found the choir room had been taken over by a very large light-up dance floor.

"Did someone steal our floor?" Brittany asked as they began to gather around the odd floor.

"Don't worry, we'll have it back by the end of the week," Will promised, "but right now, Sue is letting us borrow..."

"My very own, personal, one-of-a-kind, shatter-proof Plexiglass dance floor. Modeled, of course, on the dance floor immortalized by a young John Travolta and the legendary dance-ical, Saturday Night Fever," Sue said, looking over at the teens.

As soon as she said the movie's name, everyone groaned, "Coach Sylvester, while we applaud your proper use of the terminology we've already told Mr. Schue that we do not support disco in this room," Rachel commented, knowing no one else would stand up to them.

"Some of you do," Will admitted, moving to pick up something and came back with a record album of the movie's soundtrack, "so for this week's assignment we're going back in time to the songs of Saturday Night Fever."

"Didn't we already agree last week that disco sucks?" Puck asked, motioning to his perfectly chosen black t-shirt with 'Disco Sucks' written on it in silver print.

"Well this album, funny hair teen, is one of the best selling soundtracks of all time," Sue chimed in, "and let's be honest, everyone, you've been out of ideas since Madonna week, two years ago," she added, having said the same thing to Will the previous week and she meant it.

"Look guys, I know you don't like disco, but honestly, the main character's story in the movie is a lot like yours. He's working in a dead-end job, struggling to figure out his life. The only time he feels sure about himself is when he's performing on the dance floor. He had a dream to get out of his old neighborhood in Brooklyn and get to New York City and by the end of the movie, that's what he'd done. He turned his dream into a plan," Will explained, looking at everyone.

Groans echoed through the room again, but they all realized their coaches wouldn't give up until they'd agreed, so Kurt was the next one to speak up, "so why the dance floor?"

"Because we're going to start with a dance-off and the winner will receive a replica of John Travolta's iconic white polyester suit," Sue explained, reaching to get a small figurine wearing the suit she was talking about.

The reaction from the teens was exactly what the coaches wanted; a little competition between them, but Puck was still against it it, "I would totally put that suit on... eBay."

Rachel glanced at Puck, who was next to her and laughed lightly, "come on, Noah. Have a little adventure," she murmured.

Puck sighed, but squeezed her hand, "alright, for you."

"Great!" Rachel smiled leaning into him a little as Sue and Will stepped up on the dance floor to start them off.

...

The finalists for the dance-off ended up being Mercedes, Santana and Finn. The three were confused and quickly figured out why they had been chosen; the 'contest' had been rigged. Will was concerned about the three of them, because of the soon-to-be graduates of New Directions, they were the only ones who hadn't really been thinking about their future. Will hoped that with the story and music of the movie, Saturday Night Fever, it could help them in their quest to find out what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives. Each of them were expected to perform one song from the soundtrack that week and see if they could settle on a direction for their life.

...

"I hate disco," Puck muttered, plopping down on the piano bench in the auditorium while he and Rachel were hanging out during lunch.

"I know. I'm not a huge fan of it either, but at least we don't have to perform any songs from the movie, unless we want to," Rachel admitted, taking a seat next to him.

"Yeah, I'm glad for that," Puck agreed, "can we focus on some music that isn't disco?" He asked, motioning to her music folder.

Rachel laughed lightly, but reached for it, "I think that could definitely be arranged," she replied, pulling out the sheet music to one of her songs, "how's this?"

Puck glanced at it and nodded, "perfect."

...

Since it was Monday, the day Rachel usually got a message from her 'Secret Admirer' by the end of the day, she wasn't surprised when she found another note in her locker when she got to it after school. "_You're gonna shine brighter than the sun!_" It read and she couldn't help the smile and blush that grew on her cheeks.

Her messages were never more than a sentence, but the words held so much meaning to her. She knew, somewhere in McKinley, there was someone who believed in her and knew she'd be a star one day, which encouraged her to continue her focus on her audition to NYADA, but 'the song' just hadn't stood out to her yet. She wasn't sure if it was because she just couldn't make a choice or if it was because her mind kept wondering what was going on in Puck's head and she knew she wouldn't be able to wait much longer to find out.

When she asked Puck to join her in New York, he said he'd consider it, but since then, she couldn't help wishing, hoping and praying he'd decide to. She made an agreement with herself that she wouldn't continually to ask him, giving him some time and space to figure out just what he wanted to do, but she hoped soon she'd find out. He'd been such an amazing friend to her in the last few months and knew that their relationship would continue to grow, along with her romantic feelings for him, and she just wanted to experience New York with him, no matter what their relationship grew into.

Pushing aside her thoughts, for probably the thousandth time, Rachel gathered her things and went to meet the person she was thinking about, to continue practicing. She knew her audition was coming up in a few weeks and she needed all the time she could get, especially because she still hadn't picked the right song.

...

When Tuesday rolled around, Mercedes was the first person to entertain everyone with a song from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. She'd picked 'Disco Inferno' and did an amazing vocal rendition, while dancing with Santana and Brittany as back-up. She admitted at the end that she did have a dream, a big one. She wanted to be a singer, as famous and successful as Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, who had just passed away recently, but she didn't know the first thing about getting there. She also had a dad who was a dentist and didn't believe her dream was possible. She felt like she was stuck, scared to move across the country to California to try to make it, but knew that would be her first big step in making it.

Rachel reminded her that she was moving to New York, but Mercedes quickly added that Rachel had parents who supported her. Mercedes didn't know the first thing about becoming the singer in LA and even though she knew she was a 'star' within the club, she didn't think she could be as big of a hit outside of the club, so she was lacking some of the self-esteem that she needed to push herself to her stardom.

Though not everyone in the club was looking at being a star, all of them, either currently or in the past, had struggled with that same problem. They were all scared of their future, unsure if they were making the right decisions, scared of moving to a new place and scared of what real life could throw at them, which is why some of them hadn't made any major decisions on their future, even though graduation was approaching quickly.

...

After listening to Mercedes' speech and hanging in out with Rachel during lunch and after school, Puck spent the rest of the day and night continuing to think, like he had been for the past few weeks. After Rachel asked him to consider moving to New York, he'd been thinking about it a lot and now with Will's ulterior motive for bringing disco into the club, he'd finally made a decision and now needed to talk to Finn.

As morning arrived, Puck found Finn at his locker before Glee, so he walked up to him, "hey, Finn," he greeted.

"Hey, man, what's up?" Finn asked, closing his locker and looking at him.

"Well, it's been a few weeks since I asked you about going to LA. I know you need to think on it and honestly, I did, too, and um," Puck rubbed his neck, "I need to let you know that I'm..."

"Look, Puck," Finn cut him off before he could continue, "I really appreciate that you asked me to be your business partner and I think you've got a great idea going for you. I wish you all the best of lucky with that, but I can't make a move like that. We'll always be friends, but I just can't go to Cali with you."

A few weeks prior, Puck would have been upset that Finn turned him down, but now that he had his own new direction, Puck was relieved and felt like a weight had lifted off his chest, "good. I'm glad," he admitted and seeing Finn's confused and hurt expression, he quickly continued, "no, not like that!" He assured him, "yeah, we will always be friends. I just mean that I'm glad you didn't plan to go, because I've changed my mind, too. I'm not going to Cali, either. I've gotten a better offer that I'm gonna take. It's got better opportunities for advancement," he explained.

"Oh yeah? What is it?" Finn wondered.

"I haven't quite decided all the details, yet, and I haven't told the person who offered it to me, so I want to do that before I say anything," Puck admitted. He would have told him right away, but he didn't want to push his luck. He knew Finn would be jealous the moment he found out and Puck also wanted Rachel to be the first one to know.

"Oh, alright. That makes sense," Finn held out his hand to him, "I wish you luck in whatever you end up doing, man."

"Thanks, Finn," Puck smiled, shaking his hand, "and I hope you figure out what you wanna do, too. I guess Lima isn't too bad, if you wanted to stay around here for a while longer."

"That's what I was thinking. Lima is home and I'm just not ready to leave," Finn said honestly.

"Then don't. Just because we're graduating doesn't mean you have to leave home and know exactly what you'll do with the rest of your life. We're only eighteen. We've got tons more living ahead of us before we have to figure everything out," Puck told him.

Finn smiled as his shoulders relaxed, "I'm trying to tell that to Mr. Schuester, but he doesn't seem to get it."

Puck rolled his eyes at Will's 'lesson' for the week, a way to help Finn and some others find a dream, "I think Mr. Schue is just trying to help us find a direction, but you can't let _anyone_ force you to pick out your future until you're ready," Puck told him, "if you want to stay in Lima for a few more months or years after school, do it. It's your choice, your life."

Finn nodded at him, "thanks man."

...

Heading off to Glee, the teens listened to Santana singing 'If I Can't Have You', another song from the soundtrack picked for the week. At the end, Will thought her message helped her, not only to sing to her girlfriend, but also to show she was looking for marriage equality for everyone and was heading off to law school to be one step closer to it. Santana admitted that she wanted marriage equality for everyone, but she really only wanted to be famous and didn't care how she did it.

"Then I have to say I'm disappointed in you. Fame is not something to aspire to," Will commented.

Santana rolled her eyes, "how about you save the lecture for the theater nerds that are gonna starve in New York while desperately trying to tap dance their way to fame?" She replied, "no offense, Hummel and Berry, and everyone can stop their hating because you all want to be famous, too. The only difference is that I'm a thousand-percent sure that I am actually going to be famous," she added, looking around at the other teens.

Kurt and Rachel exchanged glances and sighed, and Puck noticed the hurt looks on their faces, "just because you're so sure of yourself, doesn't mean you can insult other people's dreams," Puck snapped. She just rolled her eyes and Puck turned his attention to Will, "and not everyone needs to know what they're gonna do with the rest of their lives, today, Mr. Schue," he told him, "some people might want to stay here for a while after graduation before figuring out their lives. We don't all have to know right now."

Will thought for a moment and sighed, "I suppose you're right, but I see potential in all of you and I don't want you guys to end up stuck here."

"This is our home, Mr. Schue. Most of us were born and raised here and it's like you're forcing us to leave it. Some of us are just not ready," Finn said.

...

Rachel had seen Puck and Finn talking in the hallway before Glee and after hearing what they both said to Will, she got a sick feeling in her stomach that Puck was going to stay in Lima and not go to New York. They met like usual during lunch, but didn't want to get into a huge conversation with him, so she tried to ignore the feelings, but wasn't sure how well she was doing about them.

Puck noticed Rachel was a little unfocused while they were in the auditorium, but before he could ask her, lunch was over, so he told himself he'd talk to her after school. When school was finally over, he got his things and headed to the auditorium and waited for her to join him. It wasn't long before she was walking up on the stage and laying her backpack on the piano.

"Hey, Rach," he commented, surprised she hadn't said anything yet.

"Hello, Noah," she replied simply, taking her music folder out of her bag.

"_She's pissed,_" he thought, getting up and moving towards her, "look, if you're pissed at me for standing up to Santana in Glee and telling Mr. Schue that today, I'm sorry."

Rachel's shoulders fell and she shook her head, "no, that's not why I'm upset," she replied.

"Then why are you mad?" Puck asked, his mind racing as he tried to figure out what he did to upset her.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she gathered her thoughts, "I appreciate that you stood up to Santana and you were right with what you said to Mr. Schuester. Not everyone has to know what they're going to do in their future right now," she replied, "and I gathered from that, that you've made your decision and won't be going to New York," she added softly, looking at him, "which I think is a big mistake, because you have so much potential, Noah."

Puck narrowed his eyes in confusion and then realized the issue, "I was only saying that because when I talked to Finn this morning, he said that Mr. Schue is on his case to figure out his future and Finn isn't ready to do that. He wants to stay here for a while before he makes that choice," Puck told her, closing the distance between them and gently resting his hands on her shoulders, "I went to talk to him earlier to tell him that my plans for Cali are gone. I have a better plan. I didn't tell him what it was, because I wanted to tell you first. I've decided to go to New York," he grinned, when her face turned to a bright smile and her eyes widened a little, "I don't know what I'll do yet, but I'll figure it out. I've realized that I really enjoy hanging out with you and I want that to continue and New York does have a lot of things we could do together."

All the worries building in Rachel's body subsided as she heard his words, and nodded at his last sentence, "yes, there is a lot to do," she agreed, "we're going to New York!" She exclaimed, jumping up and throwing her arms around his neck to hug him tightly, "I promise, Noah, you won't regret this decision!"

Reacting when she jumped up, he wrapped his arms around her and grinned, "honestly, if I'm with you, I don't see how I could regret anything," he replied, knowing he made the right decision.

Rachel pulled her head back a little to look at him, "you mean that?" She asked and when he nodded, she smiled, "Noah, I have..." She couldn't help the blush that grew on her cheeks, "I need to ask you something, but I need you to do something for me," she admitted.

Puck eyed her, confused at what she was talking about, but gently set her back down on the floor, "um, should I be worried?"

"No, well, I don't know," she admitted, taking a deep breath and reaching for her music folder, "I know most of us are against disco and usually I'd agree, but I looked up the songs online from the movie soundtrack that Mr. Schuester and Coach Sylvester assigned us this week and I couldn't help be attracted to one song. I think... Well, it's something I need to say and to know," she pulled a few sheets of paper out of her folder and handed it to him, "I found the piano music online and I cut off the name, because I don't want you to know it before I get through the song."

"Alright," Puck glanced over the music and reluctantly moved to the piano bench again, "so, you just want me to start playing this and you'll sing it?"

"Yeah," she nodded, nervously pushing a piece of hair behind her ear, "_well, here it goes nothing,_" she thought taking a calming breath and smiling at him.

Puck placed his fingers on the keys and was definitely confused at what he was about to play, but began pressing the keys in the correct combinations, while keeping a partial eye on her.

When the song reached the right spot, she began to sing the words she had in front of her, having not memorized the whole thing yet, "_I know your eyes in the morning sun. I feel you touch me in the pouring rain and the moment that you wander far from me, I wanna feel you in my arms again and you come to me on a summer breeze. Keep me warm in your love, then you softly leave and and it's me you need to show... How deep is your love?_" She paused, familiar with the chorus, so she was able to look at him to continue, "_I really need to learn, 'cause we're living in a world of fools, breaking us down when they all should let us be, we belong to you and me._"

As Rachel had started singing to the slow melody, Puck didn't think too much of it, until the words began to sink in when she looked at him to sing the chorus. While he listened to the words, the feelings he'd had for her grew even more and he realized she was asking him how deep his feelings were for her, because she had them for him and was curious how he felt. "_She really has feelings for you, man. This is awesome!_" He thought, staring at her when he could, between glancing to the sheet music in front of him.

Moving to stand beside him, she slipped her left arm around his shoulders and looked at him, as she continued with the next verse; the one she'd memorized, "_I believe in you. You know the door to my very soul. You're the light in my deepest, darkest hour. You're my savior when I fall and you may not think, I care for you, when you know down inside that I really do and it's me you need to show,_" she stopped, reaching out to gently still his hands, so he wouldn't keep playing and said the next few words, the question she had for him, "how deep is your love?"

When Rachel reached out and stilled his hands, to say the last few words, he couldn't help the smile that grew on his face. He gently turned his hand over, that was covered by hers, and laced their fingers together, but before he could speak, she began talking.

"Noah, before you say anything, I know that 'love' is a super strong word right now, but I really like and care about you as a friend, but also as more than that. I have a lot of feelings for you that I've never felt before and I just wanted you to know. I've been keeping them to myself for quite a while, because I really do enjoy the friendship we've formed and I understand if you don't feel the same way, but I needed to tell you. And you choosing to go to New York is not the only reason why I'm doing this now," she explained, wanting to clarify things before he responded to her. Seeing his smile and the twinkle in his eye, she hoped they, along with him joining their hands together was a good sign.

Letting her talk, Noah didn't move, but as she finished, he let go of her hand, stood up and stepped around the piano bench so he could face her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close to him, pressing a long, overdue kiss to her lips. He hoped that for those few moments while their lips connected, she'd feel the same sparks he was and would help her understand that he felt the same way. Snaking one hand up to brush through her hair gently, he rested it on her cheek as he broke their kiss and smiled at her again, "I feel the same way, Rachel," he whispered, locking eyes with her.

Relief washed over her body as his words sunk in, "oh Noah, you don't know how good that feels to hear you say that," she said honestly, tears she'd held back finally falling from her eyes, "I'm so glad," she added, slipping her arms around his waist.

"Me too," he agreed, "I've been keeping my distance because I knew you'd just split with Finn and have your audition coming up. You needed space and I didn't want to give you any added pressure."

"I appreciate that, I really do, and I was partially doing the same, but every time I see or talk to you, I'm more drawn to you and I just didn't want to wait anymore," she told him, "and in a way, it kind of was a pressure, by not expressing myself to you. Now that I have, I feel relieved and like I can focus more, now. Does that make sense?"

Puck nodded, "yeah, totally. You've been thinking about this for a while and it's been distracting you, hasn't it?"

"I've drifted off into space several times because of it, yes," she admitted with a blush.

"Well, now you don't have to hide it anymore," he replied with a grin.

"You're right," she nodded, leaning her head against his chest for a moment as they continued to hug. "So, what does this make us?"

"Whatever you want us or are ready for us to be," he replied honestly.

"Well, I want to take things really slow and... I know you've said it before, but um... your business," she bit her lip.

"I gave up the additional activities a long time ago," he assured her, "so I'm all yours and only yours, if that's what you want. I want you to focus on your NYADA audition and I'll continue to help out anyway I can, so I'm cool if you wanna keep things just as they are until then, and maybe we could add a few dates or dinners in during the week and hang out on the weekends a little," he suggested, "I'm okay with going at whatever pace you want."

"That sounds like a great idea," she smiled, "and I did believe you before, I just wanted, to um, be clear."

"I know and it's cool. No hard feelings," he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips.

As they kissed, sparks ignited all over her body, a feeling she'd never experienced with Finn and she soaked in the moment as long as she could.

After months of his building feelings and the ones he'd had for her in the past, Puck was glad to finally be able to hold her in his arms, kiss her and feel her close to him. The sparks that went off throughout his body helped him realize he wasn't dreaming and they were really together. He wasn't worrying about her cheating on someone and he definitely didn't plan to rush her, but he was looking forward to the day they could take their physical relationship beyond the simple touches. Until then, he settled to enjoy their building romance and allow everything to happen naturally, "this feels amazing," he whispered as their lips broke apart.

"It does," she smiled, "can this mean we're boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Without a doubt," he nodded, then smirked, "but on one condition."

Rachel raised a curious eyebrow at him, "what is it?"

"That you let me cop a feel anytime I want and not snap at me for it," he winked.

"Noah!" Rachel blushed, swatting him playfully in the chest, but took a moment to think on it seriously, "I _suppose_ that would be alright, as long as you're tasteful about it and we're not in public. There are some things I'd rather keep between us."

"Sounds fair to me," he admitted in surprise, fully expecting her to be against it or give him a hard time about it, "girlfriend."

"Boyfriend," she replied, relaxing in his arms, relieved that she finally got to talk to him about her feelings and to find he felt the same way about her. She knew they'd have a lot of things to talk about over the next few weeks and months, but for the moment, she wanted to just enjoy their time together and see how their relationship continued to grow.

...

Walking into McKinley the next morning, Rachel was on cloud nine. Months of wondering how Puck felt was over and both of them had finally expressed their feelings, and were starting to build their romantic relationship. Since they considered each other boyfriend and girlfriend and because they were taking things slow, they decided to hold off on telling their friends for a while. They wanted some time to be together, without all the outside comments, and possibly accusations from Finn, either that Rachel was cheating on him with Puck before they split up, that Puck stole his girlfriend, or something like that, because they weren't sure just how Finn would feel about it, even though it'd been months since their break-up.

After practicing the day before, they went to dinner and enjoyed some extra time together, before they went their separate ways that evening; since both had vehicles at school to deal with. It was one of the few times they'd gone out without others and Rachel liked being outside of school with him, and was definitely looking forward to doing that more.

Rachel usually never saw Puck until just before Glee, so she wasn't surprised she hadn't seen him all morning, but when she got to her locker to drop her things off before heading to the choir room, he never showed up. She waited a few extra minutes, but realizing he wasn't coming, she headed for the choir room, thinking he'd be waiting for her there.

Stepping into the classroom, Rachel was surprised again, that he wasn't there. "_This is not like him,_" she thought, glancing at her phone and seeing no missed calls or messages from him. "_He never said anything about not being here today. I'm sure he would have told me._"

Artie and Quinn were already in there, so she greeted them and moved to take a seat in her usual spot in the front row.

"Where's Puck?" Quinn wondered, "you two have been coming into Glee together, lately," she commented.

Rachel nodded, trying not to blush at her words, "yes, we usually do, but I haven't seen him today. I'm not sure where he is," she admitted. "And we hung out yesterday after school and he didn't make any comments about not being here today," she added.

"I haven't seen him either and I usually pass him in the halls in the morning," Artie chimed in, "and he never is sick, so I can't believe he'd be out because of that."

Hearing Artie's comment, Rachel pulled up her text messages and wrote one to Puck, "_Noah, where are you? You didn't say anything to me about being absent today. Are you skipping? I hate to ask, but I'm worried. Are you okay?_" Sending the message she glanced up, "I just sent him a message. I hope he replies soon. I'm worried about him."

"I'm sure you have nothing to worry about," Quinn replied, wheeling over to her, "he's been pretty good this year with actually going to class, so he's not skipping and probably has a good reason."

Rachel took a deep breath, "I hope so."

...

Putting her phone away, Rachel tried to push her concern away as others began to come into class. Will and Finn were the last to enter, Finn caring a large stack of pamphlets and booklets and she quickly recognized them as college information packets. Part of her was glad he had at least talked to Ms. Pillsbury about them, but she had an idea that Finn was only doing it because Will talked him into it.

With no performances for that day, the time in Glee passed by everyone talking about the week and the upcoming weekend. Mercedes and Kurt commented that Saturday was Vocal Adrenaline's Regionals competition, but they didn't go into too much detail on how they found out, other than that one of it's members had visited them because he was a big fan of theirs. They also added that Jesse St. James was now their coach. Rachel knew he'd gone to UCLA, but when he'd returned at prom time the year before, she realized from things he said that he wasn't a college person and would rather be performing or coaching. With Vocal Adrenaline's coach position open again, she wasn't surprised to find they'd hired him, since he was their former lead, who helped them win numerous first place trophies in the past.

As Glee came to an end, Rachel checked her phone and still didn't find a response to her message. "_No, Rachel, don't send another. There is nothing that happened last night that would have upset him or scared him away. I'm sure he has a perfectly good reason for missing school. Maybe his sister is sick or something happened at home. Just let him respond to you when he's ready. He won't keep it from you and you don't need to be spamming him with messages or he might get mad._"

The day continued to pass and it wasn't until she was in the auditorium after school that she got two messages reading. "_Sorry I've been out of touch. Been at hospital since last night. We had to take my nana there. Nothing life-threatening. Long story. Exhausted. Going home to sleep. Won't be at school tomorrow. Will tell you everything this weekend. I promise._"

Rereading his message, part of her was relieved to finally hear from him, but another part felt bad and worried for his nana. She didn't know much about his family, but she knew they were close with his grandma, so she hoped everything would be alright. Hitting the reply button, she began typing her reply, "_So glad to hear from you, but I do understand! I was worried when you weren't at school. I'm sorry to hear about your grandma. I hope everything works out. Do you need anything?_"

After sending her response, Rachel realized she wouldn't be able to focus on her music, so she decided to go home early and work on it there, if she did decide to. Gathering up her things, she began making her way towards the exit when her phone beeped again, so she glanced at Puck's reply, "_No thanks, but I appreciate the concern. Right now just need sleep. Come over Saturday afternoon?_"

Smiling at his offer, she quickly sent back, "_of course. Let me know when you'd like me to come over. Miss you!_"

"_Miss you, too. Later, babe... Girlfriend ;)',_" he quickly replied and Rachel blushed at it, before pocketing her phone and heading out to her car.

...

Rachel's dads were surprised she'd gotten home so early from school, but after explaining why, they offered to help her with her music and the three Berrys spent the evening working on both of her songs.

When Friday arrived, Rachel was at least relaxed, now knowing why Puck had been absent and wasn't surprised when she didn't find him that day. She knew he'd gone back to the hospital that morning, but didn't know the reasons why. He'd promised he'd explain everything when she came over the next day and she was looking forward to seeing him. She definitely missed him and having him play the piano for her; she loved her dads, but they just weren't the same.

During Glee, Finn noticed that Puck was missing again and Rachel explained all she knew, that his grandma was in the hospital, but she didn't know anything else and wouldn't find out until the next day. Several of them felt bad because they thought he was skipping because he'd had enough of the disco music that week, and Rachel assured them it wasn't because of that, but she admitted the thought had crossed her mind the day before when she was wondering where he was.

Rachel's day passed uneventfully and after school, she went right home. She still had yet to decide on which of the two songs she wanted to use as her audition song, but Hiram helped her pick the one that would allow her to show her vocal range and they worked on it, while LeRoy made dinner.

...

By Saturday morning, Rachel was excited. She hadn't seen her boyfriend for a few days and aside from a few text messages they'd exchanged since, she was missing him. He'd been at the hospital most of the day before, so she couldn't talk to him on the phone, so she agreed to head over to his house around noon on Saturday so they could hang out.

Pulling her car up to the small two story house just before noon, she parked and headed up to the front door. She had been there a few times, but usually it was only when they were going somewhere after school and he wanted to drop his stuff off, so she'd only been in his living room. Knocking on the door, she waited anxiously and then heard footsteps on the other side. As the door opened, she smiled, "hey, Noah!" She greeted, happy to finally see him, even though he looked half asleep.

"Hey, babe, come in," he motioning inside, "how are you?"

Rachel moved into the house, "hug first," she replied, slipping her arms around his waist.

Puck smiled, pressing a kiss to her cheek as he wrapped her up in a tight hug, "definitely missed you," he admitted, "I could have probably gone over to your place last night for a few hours, but I was still tired from the other night and I'm not sleeping the greatest."

"It's okay, Noah. You've had other things going on," she assured him, standing up on her tip toes to press a kiss to his lips, "and I've missed you, too."

"So, how are you?" He asked again, closing the door and motioning to the couch nearby.

"I'm doing alright," she shrugged, more concerned about him, "so what's been going on? What happened?" She asked, as they both took seats on the couch.

Puck rolled his eyes and sighed, "we had to take my nana to the hospital. She's diabetic and her blood sugar got really low. It's not the first time it's happened, so we've had to take her before; even a few times we've had to call the paramedics. Anyway, while we were in the ER, they got her blood sugar up, but it went up too much and they didn't like her blood pressure and so they're keeping her a few days to make sure things can get back to normal. I've been staying with her during the day, because mom couldn't get time off work and we didn't want her to be alone. That's why I haven't been at school."

"Oh, that makes sense," she admitted, "so she's going to be okay, right?"

"Definitely," he assured her, "but I don't know how long she's gonna be in there. She's stubborn and set in her ways when it comes to how much insulin she takes and doesn't like change, so until she can break her habits and change a few things, she might be there another few days. My mom and sister are with her right now."

"I'm glad she will be okay," Rachel smiled, leaning in to press a kiss to his lips, "how long do you think you'll be out of school?"

"I don't know. Depends on how long she's in the hospital and if she'll need any help when she gets home," he shrugged.

Rachel nodded, snuggling up to him, "I definitely understand. Family is important, but I do miss you. School isn't the same without you."

Puck smiled, "you missed me that much?"

"I did. When you didn't meet me at my locker the other day before Glee like you usually do, it was weird. I'm so used to you walking with me in the halls or sitting next to me in Glee, that when I looked next to me and you weren't there, I missed you. If we hadn't started dating and this happened, I still would feel the same way," she told him truthfully.

"Wow," he murmured, leaning in to press a kiss to her forehead, "that means a lot to hear. No one has ever told me they missed me before; well, not counting family."

Rachel lifted her head to look at him, "really?"

"Yeah, really," he nodded. "You know I haven't had the best track record with girls and sure, some of the 'cougars' I've had flings with 'missed' me, but that was more because of their lives and thinking I was hot, or whatever," he shrugged, "when you say it, I know you mean it."

"I definitely mean it," she assured him, "you mean a lot to me and I missed not having my friend and boyfriend around and I will miss you until you get back to school."

Puck ran a hand through her hair and smiled, "I'll be back soon. Just not sure how long that will be," he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips, "so we've got the house to ourselves. Anything you'd like to do?"

With the way he said that, a thought came to her, "Noah, are you hiding me from your family?" She asked, teasing him mostly, but part of her was curious.

"No," he shook his head quickly, "not like you think. My mom... She's always wanted me to get a girlfriend, you know? Not have relationships like I've had in the past, short ones or by just sleeping around. I know I've grown up a lot and now that I have an amazing girlfriend, she's going to love you, because you're the type of girl she's always wanted me to be with."

"I know," Rachel nodded, "I remember you telling me, when we dated before, that she wished you'd find a Jewish girl," she bit her lip and motioned between them, "this isn't just to make her happy, right?"

"Of course not. I like you for you, yes you are Jewish, but that's not why I wanted to be with you," he promised.

"Okay, good. Sorry I asked. I don't want you to think I don't trust you, but part of me couldn't help wondering, same about why I haven't officially met your family, yet. I have met them, at temple in the past, but never as your girlfriend," she admitted.

"You will, I just need some time, okay?" He asked softly.

"Okay," she smiled at him, "time I can give you."

"Speaking of parents knowing, do your dads know about us?"

Rachel nodded happily, "yes, they do. They actually thought we'd get together at some point, ever since you came over and invited me to that Valentine's Day party a few months ago," she blushed.

"They did? Wow! Well, I had hoped we might date, but you and Finn had just split up, so I wasn't gonna push anything," he admitted.

"I know," she nodded, "and I really appreciate that you gave me the space I needed to get through my break-up. Well, you were still around. I mean I'm just glad you were willing to just be friends with me until I was ready," she explained, shifting a little so she could face him better.

"You're welcome. I wanted you to be the one to come to me, when you were ready and you did. I was surprised, but I'm definitely glad," he explained.

Rachel leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips, "me too."

...

Spending the afternoon and part of the evening at the Puckerman's house, Rachel met his mom and sister when they got home from the hospital. Even though Puck had wanted to wait to tell them, it wasn't easy to say they were just friends, when they walked into the house and found Rachel and Puck curled up on the couch watching a movie, so Puck introduced her officially as his girlfriend.

Rachel stayed for dinner and while they ate, both were asking Rachel questions to get to know her. Puck could tell his mom liked Rachel from the comments she was making as they talked, so he took that as a good sign and joined the conversation once and a while, but they did most of the talking.

When dinner was over, Puck and Rachel went back to the living room to hang out, but before it got too late, she decided to get home and after saying 'goodbye' to his mom and sister, Puck walked her out to her car. "I hope they weren't too much for you tonight," he admitted, "I honestly didn't think they'd be home when they were."

"It's okay, Noah. They were great. I like them both," she assured him, "they're just curious about me because I'm your girlfriend. I, um, almost slipped we were going to New York. I didn't know if you'd talked to your mom about going with me, so I didn't say anything."

"Thanks. I'm glad you didn't. I haven't had a chance to talk to her. I'm sure she's gonna be shocked and freak out because she won't know how I'll be able to go there and live without much for savings. I guess it's something I'll have to figure out," he admitted, rubbing his neck nervously.

"Well, since NYADA is such a small school, they don't have 'dorms' like a typical college has. They have a deal with a few apartment complexes near the school to give students a discount on rent. The plus with that is we don't have to move out completely after the end of a school year. It'll be ours for as long as we want it," she explained, "and since it's off-campus, we can have non-student roommates, so if Kurt and I both get in, we've talked about getting a two-bedroom to share. You could live with us," she explained.

"Whoa," Puck murmured, his eyes widening in shock, "you'd be willing to live with me? Your boyfriend?" He wondered, trying to wrap his head around what she said.

Rachel nodded, "yes. I don't expect you to move to New York and live in your own place just because we're dating, while Kurt and I live somewhere else. Yes, we would all have to talk about a lot of things, but I trust you and I'd like to think our relationship would get to a point where we're comfortable sleeping together. I also think it would save us a lot of money if we split rent. I'm pretty sure we'll have to get jobs, but at least none of us would have to get some big full-time job or anything. We could have part time jobs a few days a week to pitch in. I don't know. It's something to discuss with Kurt and our parents, and," she sighed, biting her lip, "neither of us even know if we're going to get into NYADA."

"Rachel, you're amazing and if they don't accept you, they're fucking idiots," Puck commented truthfully, stepping closer to her and resting his hand on her cheek, "you'll get in."

"Thank you," Rachel smiled, leaning into his simple touch, "I'm just getting nervous. Our auditions are not far off," she said softly.

"Yeah, and we'll work as hard as we can, every day, to make sure you're ready," he assured her.

Gathering her thoughts, she smiled, "you're going to play piano for me, right?" She asked looking at him, "I know you've been recently, but I... I want you on stage with me," she told him with a smile.

"I'll definitely be there, if that's what you want. I'll do anything I can to help you out," he promised.

Rachel slid her arms around his waist and hugged him, "thank you, Noah. This means a lot. No one else has even offered to help on my audition. I mean, I know my dads would, but none of our other friends. I don't count Kurt, because he's working just as hard on his audition. It just really makes me happy that you're there for me."

"I'll always be there for you, Rachel, I promise," he smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, "but can I ask you something?" He wondered, having been curious about it for a while.

"Sure?" She lifted her head and looked at him, "what is it?"

"Why only NYADA? There's tons of performing arts schools in New York. Why are you both only focused on NYADA?"

"Because it's one of the best," she replied easily.

"Yes, 'one of the best', which means there's more than one. I don't know a lot when it comes to this, but shouldn't you have a back-up plan? Like NYU? I hate to admit this, but maybe Blaine's brother was kind of right. Maybe college is wasting time. I don't know, but by going to school for another what? Four years? That's four more years you'll have to wait until you can attempt Broadway and isn't acting all about emotion, feeling and practice; things you already do? Why do you need some fancy school to train you in things you already know? I guess what I'm getting at is wondering why you and Kurt have both only focused on getting into NYADA and not applying to other schools, too," he explained, "since you both seem to want to go to college after high school."

Rachel opened her mouth to respond, but then closed it, realizing she didn't have a secondary school picked out, "you're right," she nodded, taking a deep breath, "I suppose at the beginning of the year, when Ms. Pillsbury mentioned to us that Julliard didn't have musical theater, she suggested NYADA. She said they were ranked number one for musical theater in the nation and are really competitive, so when we went to a meeting with prospective students, we put our focus on NYADA. It is one of the best schools for what we want, but there are others. I get what you mean about maybe not going, but by having the 'education' of a well-respected school, someone stands out more to a casting director or is taken more seriously, than if we just start auditioning for everything we can find. At least I would think that. Unfortunately, I think it's too late to apply to other schools. Most needed applications turned in way before now to even be considered for the upcoming school year, so if I don't get into NYADA, I don't know what I'm going to do."

Puck listened to her and rubbed her back gently, "we can still move to New York. Can't you apply to get in like in the middle of the year? You can't tell me that every single graduating Senior is automatically gonna start school in late-August or early-September after they graduate high school. We can find part-time jobs and you two can work on getting into school in the middle of the year," he explained.

"That could work," Rachel admitted, "getting into school late is possible. I guess I just thought it's traditional that if someone is going to go to college or university after high school it's usually right after."

"Yeah, I get that. I'm also not saying you guys won't get into NYADA, so don't think that. I've just been curious about this and it doesn't hurt to have a back-up plan, just in case," Puck added.

"I understand and you're right," she said again, smiling at him, "thanks for mentioning it."

He leaned down, pressing a kiss to her lips, "no problem."

...

Rachel appreciated what Puck brought up Saturday night as she was leaving his house and it gave her something to do on Sunday. She began researching 'performing arts schools' in New York City and found several with long lists of famous alumni, both in TV and movies and ones from Broadway productions. Printing out some information for herself, she also got a sheet with the school's data to give Kurt.

When Monday arrived, Rachel knew Puck wouldn't be back. His grandma was still in the hospital, so during the morning between classes, she went in search of Kurt and found him just walking away from Mercedes, who was now walking with Sam the opposite way down the hall, "Hey Kurt, just the person I was looking for," Rachel smiled, coming to a stop in front of him.

"Oh really? Good, cause I wanted to talk to you. You go first," Kurt said, slipping his arm through hers, "what's up?"

"It's about our plans for New York," she started, as they began walking the way Kurt had been.

"If this is about Puck, I kind of already figured he'd be living with us. They're off-campus apartments, so he doesn't have to be a student to live in them and we'll still get the discount and I'd be okay if he lived with us," he replied, thinking that was what she wanted to bring up.

"That's not it, though that is something I was going to talk to you about soon," she admitted, looking at him, "Noah is going to join us in New York and I'd like him to live with us, so I'm glad you'll be okay with that, but what I wanted to talk to about is a back-up plan. While I was with Noah this weekend, we were talking and he asked me if I had one, just in case I don't get into NYADA, and I don't. Do you?"

"Back-up plan? Why would we need one? We're gonna get into NYADA," he said firmly.

Rachel took a deep breath, "yes, I'm hopeful we will, too, but have you even considered that we might not? You heard Ms. Pillsbury at the beginning of the year. They're a very competitive school and what if one of us gets in and the other doesn't? Or what if neither of us do? Ever since she told us that Julliard didn't have a Musical Theater department, we've been solely focused on NYADA. Don't you think we should have applied to other schools, just in case?"

Kurt stepped to the side of the hallway where it was less crowded and turned to look at her, "I suppose we have been thinking of just NYADA, but it's too late. Applications were due by the end of 2011," he admitted, "what are you thinking of as another school?"

"Well, I did some research online and I found this school," she pulled the piece of paper out of the binder she was holding, "it's called New York Film Academy(1). They offer one-year and two-year degrees in musical theater, and also have other degrees, too. I was looking at their list of alumni and I found a whole bunch I've seen on TV, in movies or in theater productions, so it seems like a legitimate school. I thought I'd give you that and let you look at it yourself. Their degrees, time wise, start in September or January, so if we didn't get into NYADA, we could still move to New York, find part-time jobs and get into school by January," she explained.

"Wow," Kurt glanced over what she showed him and liked what he saw, "this seems like a cool place. I'll definitely look into it, but I'm pretty sure we'll both get into NYADA," he added, slipping the paper into his bag.

"I am, too, but it doesn't hurt to have options," she admitted.

Kurt contemplated what she said, "yeah, you're right."

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" She wondered.

"Remember last week when Mercedes and I said that one of the members of Vocal Adrenaline came to us because he was huge fans of ours?" He asked and when Rachel nodded, he continued, "well he wanted to see what we thought about him going on stage for their Regionals, Saturday, as his alter-ego 'Unique', a woman. At first we told him it wasn't a good idea. Then Coach Sylvester talked us into telling him it was a good one, because she thought if he did, people might not like it and then Vocal Adrenaline would lose, which would basically give us a huge shot at winning at Nationals," Kurt took a deep breath and sighed, "we went along with her, but then didn't feel we should let him go on as Unique, so we went to talk him out of it, but Jesse stopped us before we got a chance to talk to him. He went on as Unique and Jesse was pissed, but VA ended up winning anyway. We were really surprised, but now it looks like we're competing against Jesse and Vocal Adrenaline at Nationals."

Rachel's eyes widened, "wow! He dressed as a woman? That's not seen around here often, but more power to him! He's gotta be himself and if that's who he wants to be, then he should be," she admitted, "and as soon as you guys said Jesse was their coach, I had a good feeling we would be competing against him," she said truthfully.

Kurt nodded, "yeah, I'm glad he was himself," he agreed, "and I guess the only way to be the best is to beat the best, so we'll see at Nationals just who is better."

"Exactly!" Rachel replied, "and we will beat them!"

...

Moving into Glee that day, they found out that Mercedes and Santana 'won' the previous week's competition and both came out of the office dressed in white polyester suits just like John Travolta wore in the movie. Will also had another surprise; enough suits for everyone to wear and he wanted them all to dance to 'Stayin' Alive' in the auditorium.

At first, no one was willing to, but after a little persuasion with the promise that he wouldn't bring up disco again, Will got the teens to change into their costumes and everyone moved to the auditorium. On stage, the band played the music and Will, Sue and a few others who knew some of the 'disco' steps, showed them how to dance and soon they were all singing along and dancing to the song.

Rachel missed Puck being there and several of the teens made comments about it not being the same without him there, or his comments about hating disco. Rachel explained why he wasn't there and everyone felt bad, but hoped his grandma was okay and Will suggested she take Puck's suit to him, just to see what he said. The others thought it was a great idea, so Rachel agreed to take it after school and get pictures of him wearing it.

As promised, when the school day ended, Rachel got her things, picked up her and Puck's suits from Will's office in the choir room and headed out to her car. She'd messaged Puck that afternoon and asked if she could stop over and he said he'd be home by then, so she could. It didn't take too long to arrive at his place, so she got his plastic wrapped suit from her trunk and headed up to the front door, knocking as she reached it.

When he answered the door, she grinned, "hey, Noah. I have something for you," she held out the suit, "each of us got one."

"What the hell is that?" Puck asked, reaching for the item and looking at it.

"It's a replica of the suit that John Travolta wore in Saturday Night Fever," she explained, "we all wore them today and danced to Stayin' Alive. I know you're not a huge fan of disco, but would you at least put this on so I can get pictures and then you can take it off?" She asked curiously.

Puck raised a curious eyebrow at her, "oh hell no! I'm not getting into that thing!" He shook his head and held it out to her, trying to hand it back, "not a chance!"

"Oh come on, Noah! It's not going to hurt you. Please? For me?" She stepped closer and reached out, grabbing his shirt and tugging him toward her, "please? I'll even put mine on if that will change your mind," she added, batting her eyes and purposely sticking out her lower lip a little.

"Don't do the lip and eyes," he murmured, having a hard time saying 'no' to her when she was looking at him like that and begging. "You're not gonna give up until I do, are you?"

"Nope," she shook her head and stood up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips, "please?"

"Fine," he sighed, "but only if you put yours on, too."

"Great! I'll go get it!" She turned around and skipped out of the open door and went back to her car.

Glaring at the suit hanging from a hanger on his hand, he sighed again, "I should have known I wasn't gonna get out of the rest of disco week," he muttered, glancing up to see her returning with a smaller version of his suit, "the things I do for you, babe."

Rachel grinned brightly, stepping closer to him when she walked inside, "I appreciate it and this isn't _just_ for me. Consider it team unity," she added, leaning up and pressing a kiss to his lips.

"Alright, fine, the things I do for 'team unity'," he smirked, slipping his arm around her waist and kissing her again, this time, letting his tongue brush gently along her lips, "then maybe afterward we can work on another type of _unity_?"

She couldn't help the blush that grew on her cheeks at his words, and though they were a new 'couple', they had been together before, so being close to him wasn't scary for her; she trusted him, but just wasn't ready to go 'all the way' yet. Gathering her thoughts, she smiled up at him and winked, "maybe I'll let us get to second base."

Puck couldn't help licking his lips, at the thoughts he was having and smiled, "if you're ready, I'm definitely up for it."

...

Lyrics used: 'How Deep is Your Love' by the Bee Gees. Song is on the soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever and even though I didn't like Rachel singing the song to Finn in the show, I definitely loved hearing Lea sing it.

1. New York Film Academy - ( nyfa . edu )

According to their list of alumni, Chord Overstreet is an acting grad and Naya Rivera is screenwriting grad.

...

A/N3: Another episode down. Hope you all enjoyed! Please review and let me know. I'm only getting a few per chapter and I totally appreciate each one I get, so I'm not gonna be one of those authors who begs for a certain amount of reviews before updating again, but I'm curious how you guys feel. Even if it's just a 'loved it!' comment, I'd be cool with that. At least so I know you still are enjoying it.

A/N4: I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that every part is gonna be a new episode from here on out. I thought I'd be able to get both 3x16 and 3x17 into here, but I wasn't able to (I limit myself to 20 pages per part in any of my fics), so I figured I'd just stick to one episode per part.

A/N5: On a more personal level, I'm having some abdominal pain and a lot of symptoms pointing to gallbladder problems. I'm going to the doctor in a few days to have it checked out and knowing from experience with friends who have had theirs out, my only real option to fix it is to have it removed. I guess the surgery isn't too bad these days, but it still freaks me out for so many reasons! I shouldn't go MIA for too long, but in case you don't see as many updates from me in the near future, that could be why. I may take a break on this fic to start working on some of my other WIPs, to let my readers on them know the same thing, because I know not everyone reads all of my WIPs. Anyway, just wanted to let you all know what's going on!

...


	5. Part 5: '3x17' '5a & 5b on LJ'

Title: Breakaway, Part 5/?

**Spoilers:** This part to '3x17 - Dance With Somebody'; whole series will be through the Glee season 3 finale.

Disclaimer1: I don't own Glee, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N1: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

Disclaimer2: Title from one of my favorite Kelly Clarkson songs 'Breakaway'. Just borrowing. I don't own!

...

Disclaimer3: Any familiar lines from the episode listed have been underlined... Just borrowing them! I don't own!

...

**3x17 - Dance With Somebody**

...

It'd been a few days since New Directions sang 'Stayin' Alive' in the auditorium at school and since Rachel had talked Puck into trying on his suit, even though he hadn't been at school that day. His grandma had been in the hospital for a while, but she'd been released to go home the next day, only because Puck was going to stay with her during the day to make sure she did what she was supposed to, and his mom would stay with her in the evenings, because she couldn't get time off work.

The last few days of the week, found some of the teens thinking about Whitney Houston. She'd passed away a couple of months prior, but some of them hadn't really gotten over her death. No one was really sure the exact reason, and on Friday, Rachel joined Mercedes, Kurt and Santana to sing an acappella version of Whitney's song, 'How Will I Know', right in the middle of the hallway.

Rachel couldn't help thinking of her boyfriend while they were singing. Since they'd agreed to keep their relationship a secret for a while and because he hadn't been there, it was easy to keep their physical relationship from everyone, but she still missed him at school. Glee and their lunch time just hadn't been the same in his absence, but she did understand why he was still gone. Since 'Stayin' Alive', Rachel had been going home right after school and he'd been coming over to meet her and they'd work at her NYADA audition at her place. It gave them some time to spend together and she was glad for the time together, but she was also looking forward to his return to McKinley. They would be graduating in less than two months and she wanted to spend as much time with him as she could.

...

Puck and Rachel spent their weekend together. Saturday they went out, going to lunch, then rollerskating and afterward picked up some take-out and had a small picnic at a park near her house for short while before returning to her place to watch a movie. Sunday, they agreed to focus on her audition, which was coming up in a few weeks and she needed as much practice as she could get, so they spent all day at the Berry's, with Puck playing the music on her family's piano and Rachel singing along.

Even though it was important that they focused on her song, they both made time for breaks, or chances to physically explore their new relationship. They were still in the early stages of being a couple and Rachel was slowly getting more comfortable being close to him, even enough that they ended up in her room after dinner, kissing and cuddling on her bed. He made it clear that he was not pushing her into anything and she appreciated his willingness to take things at her pace, and while silently laying with him, she found herself feeling happy, content, safe and loved; things she hadn't completely felt before. The feelings reminded her that she was with the right person; that Puck was who she should have been with all along and part of her regretted that it had taken her so long to figure it out. She kept quiet about her thoughts, knowing one day she'd talk to him about them, but for the time being, she pushed them aside, to focus on the present and to look forward to their future together.

...

Feeling refreshed after her enjoyable weekend, Rachel was ready for a new week when she walked into McKinley Monday morning. She knew Puck still wouldn't be back to school, but the time they'd had over the weekend helped make up for some of it.

The morning was uneventful and when she walked into the choir room for Glee, she found that Mercedes, Kurt, Blaine, and Quinn were already there, so she greeted them and took her usual seat in the front row, right next to Artie.

Will took that moment to come into the choir room, having heard their conversation room his office, "hey everyone," he waved, moving to the front of the class, "I've been doing some research to prepare for this week's lesson," he admitted, picking up the white-erase marker to write 'Whitney' on the board.

Rachel's eyes widened and she gasped, "oh my God, yes! It's about time we did a Whitney tribute!"

"Are we sure that's appropriate?" Sam asked curiously.

Turning around, Mercedes glared at him, "you did not just ask that!"

Sam took a deep breath, "I just mean, didn't Whitney kinda have a lot of problems?"

"She had a hard life, Sam, and?" Mercedes wondered, glancing at him, before turning her attention to the front of the class.

"This week isn't about passing judgment on Whitney," Will said, moving around the piano to sit on it's bench, "it's about celebrating her legacy. Honoring her memory, her accomplishments..."

"Which I will happily list for you..." Kurt started, shifting in his seat, but Blaine reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder to stop him from interrupting Will.

"I also want you guys to use her songs to get underneath your own feelings. To express and explore what's really going on with you," Will told them truthfully.

"I don't get it, Mr. Schue. What's really going on with us?" Finn asked curiously.

Will took a deep breath, "well, for most of you, these next few weeks will be your last here at McKinley. Lot's of changes coming up, lots of saying 'goodbye' to your friends, to your significant others, to the past four years of your life. For a young person, all that transition can be overwhelming, so it's easier to focus on other things, like not being able to say 'goodbye' to Whitney Houston," he explained, looking around at everyone. "I saw some of you signing one of her songs in the hallway last week. I realized that it's not just about mourning her, but she's also a metaphor for you all having a hard time letting go of your high school lives."

Sometimes Rachel saw Will's weekly lessons as an excuse to do a certain type of song, but this time she actually agreed with him, so she stood up and turned to face everyone, "Mr. Schuester is right. Even if we don't want to admit it now, she is a metaphor. I know these next weeks are going to be tough on everyone, and by continuing to mourn her with photos in our lockers and singing her songs in the middle of the hallway, we're trying to hang on to the last piece of our youth we have left. By not letting her go, we're admitting that we're not ready to say 'goodbye' to the lives we have now. Our future is unknown, even though most of us have plans after high school, and while we may be 'fine' with leaving, I'll admit I'm scared. I'm not ready to let go of all of this yet," Rachel motioned around the room, "so I think this week's lesson is great! It can help us start to face our fears of the future and prepare us for when it really is time to say 'goodbye'."

...

Rachel was excited for singing songs by Whitney Houston and she knew of a few that she wanted to try out. Everything she'd said in Glee, she meant and believed. Before Will had mentioned it, everyone had been wondering why they all still focused on Whitney. Now it was quite clear what the answer was and it was time for everyone to let her go in peace and deal with the true reason behind holding on to her.

She was thankful that in her new life's adventure, she'd have Kurt and Puck along with her, so she knew she wouldn't be alone, but she still was scared of being away from the only home she'd ever known and upset that she wouldn't see all their friends daily like she had for the past few years.

...

By Tuesday in Glee, Rachel was missing her boyfriend, more than normal. The day before, he didn't come over after she got home from school because had a few pools to clean, something he wanted to do as often as possible, to save up more money for their move to New York. She completely understood what was going on and was glad he had a way to make some money to save, but it didn't keep her from missing him. The hardest part was not being able to mention anything to her friends about why she seemed like she was daydreaming a lot; she was thinking about him.

Brittany and Santana started 'Whitney Week' off by singing and dancing to her song, 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' and everyone enjoyed the upbeat song. They all knew that Brittany was one of their best dancers, and she showed it well during the song and even Rachel wished she had as much dance talent as she did.

...

When Puck arrived at Rachel's house that afternoon, she had her room torn apart. She knew she had a large book of sheet music of Whitney's songs, but she couldn't find it anywhere. Puck suggested just buying a new book, when she explained about their lesson for the week. She wasn't thrilled about spending more money on a song book she knew she had, because she'd spent a lot on finding songs for her NYADA audition, but she also didn't want to spend the rest of the week looking for it, so she and Puck climbed into his truck and headed to 'Between The Sheets', Lima's only sheet music store.

After an hour of looking around, Rachel had decided on two different Whitney books that had several songs in each that she'd enjoy singing. Once she'd paid for her purchases, she and Puck returned to her house to have dinner with her dads. After dinner, she cracked open one of her new books and with Puck's accompaniment on the piano, she wanted to work on Whitney's version of 'The Star-Spangled Banner'.

...

Rachel went to school Wednesday morning, severely frustrated. She and Puck had worked for several hours the night before on the song she'd picked out, but she just couldn't nail the vocals. She was also upset because she realized on her drive to McKinley that she hadn't gotten her weekly gift from her 'Secret Admirer' that week yet and they'd been consistently dropping gifts off at her locker on Monday afternoons, so she was worried they found out she'd gotten with Puck and gave up trying to pursue her.

With both things on her mind, when she saw Kurt standing at his locker, dusting off the things hanging up, she walked up to him, "Noah came over last night to play piano for me and oh my God! I practiced Whitney Houston's version of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' all night and I still can't sing it," she huffed, leaning against the cool metal lockers near him.

Kurt glanced at her as he continued dusting, "you're just realizing this now? I'm surprised anyone has attempted it after she nailed it to the wall," he admitted, "and Puck went over to your house? Wow! You two have been spending an awful lot of time together lately. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two were dating," Kurt commented truthfully, as his phone vibrated, so he set his duster down and picked up the item to look at it.

"_Saved by the text message,_" she thought, seeing Kurt smiling at the screen, "oh, I know what that is! Blaine is sending you cutesy text messages, right?"

"It's not from Blaine," Kurt replied simply.

Rachel's eyes widened, "then who is it?"

Kurt blushed, "he's just a guy. I met him at Between The Sheets. His name is Chandler. He's nice," he explained, smiling as he leaned against the lockers.

"So what did Mr. Between-The-Sheets say, then?" Rachel asked, wondering just what was going on.

"Nothing. We just joke around. It's sweet," he assured her, but when he saw her curious look, he continued, "okay, alright," he leaned in and turned his phone a little to show her the most recent one, "'are you an astronaut? Because your smile is out of this world'. See, it's sweet," he assured her.

"Are you kidding me?" Rachel grabbed his phone to look at the other messages and she gasped, "Kurt! You have been going at this with him for two days now?"

Kurt shrugged, "it's nothing. It's just fun. He makes me feel good."

Rachel's mouth fell open in shock, "what's going on with you and Blaine?"

"I don't know," Kurt sighed, closing his locker, "the last few months, ever since his brother was here, I get these feelings like he's pulling away from me," he explained, "I don't think we've had an unscheduled make-out session in like a month."

"You schedule make-out sessions?" Rachel raised a curious eyebrow at him, "really?"

"Yeah, I guess we do. Look, I know we love each other, but right now there just doesn't seem to be the spark we once had. I don't know what happened. I can't even remember the last time he sent me a text message or complimented me. Chandler does; he makes me feel special," Kurt explained, "it's all innocent. I wouldn't date him or anything, so I don't know what the big deal is. I'm not cheating on Blaine."

Rachel took a moment to gather her thoughts as they started to walk down the hallway and then stepped in front of him to look at him, "have you even talked to Blaine about this?"

"No," Kurt shook his head, "and I know I need to, but if he's got a problem then he should be telling me. I shouldn't have to pry it out of him."

"That is true, but as his boyfriend, you should be able to see something's wrong and ask him. Maybe he's waiting for you to do that," Rachel offered, "and if you say this is all innocent, then would you show Blaine those text messages?"

"Of course not," Kurt shook his head.

"Well, then I guess it's not all innocent or you'd be willing to show him. I'm sorry, but this is a form of cheating," she told him honestly. "You've got to tell Blaine about this and you guys need to figure out what's going on. You can't let this go on and you're gonna have to figure out if what you have with Blaine is worth holding on to. It's not fair that you're hiding this from him."

"I'm not cheating on him," Kurt commented, "this is not cheating. I just am talking to Chandler."

"Yeah, that's how it starts," Rachel took a deep breath and realized there was no way to change his mind, so she decided to end the conversation, "look, I think you and Blaine need to talk and figure things out. I know what it's like to make a tough decision. I did turn down a proposal from Finn, remember? That wasn't easy, but I knew it was the right thing to do. If you and Blaine are having issues, you need to figure out if what you have is worth working on or if it's time to let things go," she finished, turning on her heel and walking down the hallway, leaving Kurt to his own thoughts.

...

A bit later, Rachel and the club sat and listened to Quinn and their newest member, Joe, sing 'Saving All My Love For You', a song they'd started working on while Joe was helping with her physical therapy. The teens couldn't help sharing confused glances with each other, curious what was going on between Quinn and Joe, because they seemed to be a lot closer than everyone expected.

Rachel also was thinking about Puck. She glanced around the room a little out of habit, but knew he wasn't there. As she looked around, she saw Finn looking at her, so she quickly returned her gaze to Joe and Quinn, but knew why Finn was looking at her - he missed her.

When their song was over, everyone clapped and cheered for their performance and Will complimented them and all the songs that had been sung so far that week. With no one else ready to sing, Will let them leave Glee early, so Rachel got up and left the room, heading for her locker. She hoped Finn wouldn't follow her, but as she reached for her lock she saw him, "hello, Finn," she commented softly.

"Hey, Rachel, I, um, we haven't talked a lot recently. I wanted to see how you're doing," Finn started.

"I'm doing wonderful, actually. Thank you for asking," she replied, opening her locker and pulling out her backpack, "how are you?" She asked, knowing they agreed to stay friends.

"I'm okay," he nodded, "been working a lot at the garage, so I've been making some extra money," he replied, "are you practicing for your NYADA audition? That's coming up really soon, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is and I am practicing daily. Since Noah's been absent from school, he's been coming over to my house to practice, after I get home, because I've asked him to play during my audition," she explained.

"He's been going over to your house?" Finn asked, his eyes widening in shock.

"Yes, he has been. Is there something wrong with that?" She wondered, raising a curious eyebrow at him.

"Uh, well, no, I guess not, but it's just Puck... He's pretty... Forward sometimes."

Rachel glared at him, "though you don't deserve an explanation, I'll have you know that Noah Puckerman is a complete gentleman!" She snapped, slamming her locker shut.

"Look, I didn't mean it like that, but I'm surprised you're gonna let him play during your audition," Finn replied, trying not to piss her off anymore.

Though Rachel knew Finn was trying to cover his insinuation with a slight change of subject, his new comment upset her even more, "for someone who is supposed to be his _friend_, you don't seem to care about him at all or you'd recognize that Noah is a wonderful pianist and guitarist!" She took a deep breath and figured she'd 'fight fire with fire', "_anyone_ can bang on a bunch of drums!" She hissed, turning on her heel and stormed down the hallway, hoping he figure out what her last words meant.

...

Rachel kept her and Finn's conversation from Puck when they hung out that night; the last thing she wanted was for him to know that his 'friend' thought that little of him.

When she got to school Thursday morning, she was surprised when Santana cornered her and asked if she'd sing a Whitney song with her during Glee. They had sung on a few songs together in the past and she definitely wouldn't turn down an opportunity to perform, so she gladly accepted when she found out what song Santana had selected.

Just before Glee that day, Rachel was stuffing her bag into her locker when she spied Finn walking towards her again. With a sigh, she closed her locker with only her phone in her hand and turned to him, "what do you want, Finn? Come to insult your _friend_ some more?"

"Stop it," Finn snapped, "look, I didn't mean to make it seem like that. I just was surprised he was going over to your place a lot, and I was jealous, too. I know what he's been like in the past with girls and I didn't realize he was a different guy to you. I also know he's a good piano and guitar player, but jealously got the best of me. I'm sorry."

Rachel glared at him, "are you only apologizing because you know what you said pissed me off or do you really mean it?"

"I mean it, Rachel. Puck's one of my best friends. Yeah, he's done some things in the past that I've not agreed with, but we've worked them out," Finn said.

Taking a deep breath, Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and motioned for him to follow her to Glee, "apology accepted, then," Rachel said as they walked down the hallway.

"Cool," Finn smiled, "so, um, I hear you and Santana are gonna sing a duet in Glee."

"Yes, she asked me this morning. I'm looking forward to it, because I really like the song she picked out," Rachel replied.

...

When the two reached the choir room, Rachel greeted those who there and went to Quinn, asking her to record her and Santana's performance on Rachel's cell phone. She wanted to show Noah that night, but didn't have a video camera with her, so she opted to use her iPhone and Quinn gladly agreed to help out.

After Will greeted everyone and spoke a little, Santana and Rachel got up and announced the would be singing Whitney's song 'So Emotional'. Santana started out and Rachel joined her after a few lines and the two happily danced around the choir room, bringing the Whitney classic, from the late 1980s, into a new decade.

Rachel had a lot of fun, singing and dancing with Santana and couldn't wait to watch the video to see them in action. After their performance, Rachel got her phone back from Quinn and she thanked her a lot for doing that. Quinn assured her it was fine and was happy to help out, giving her something to do, to keep her mind off the fact that she couldn't really 'dance' at the moment, even if she wanted to.

...

During lunch, Quinn, Rachel, Mercedes, Tina, Santana and Brittany ended up in the same girls bathroom together.

"Quinn, when you sang 'Saving All My Love For You' with Joe yesterday, it _sure_ felt like you meant it," Mercedes commented, turning to look at the blond.

"Yeah! You guys seem like a lot more than just singing partners," Rachel added, curious if there was more going on with them.

Quinn sighed and turned her chair around to face everyone, "Joe and I are just friends. Nothing else is gonna happen," she replied quietly.

"But you wait it to, don't you?" Tina wondered.

"It doesn't matter what I want. I've said 'goodbye' to that part of my life. Joe took me to rehab the other day, we had a moment, and before we kissed, he pulled away. Grossed out by me and my chair," she explained sadly.

Rachel immediately felt horrible for bringing it up, "Quinn, I'm so sorry," she said honestly.

Quinn shrugged, "I don't want to hear that tone. Joe's not into me. I don't blame him. Who would be?" She asked rhetorically, before wheeling her chair towards the door.

Watching her leave, Rachel collected her thoughts and went after her, hoping to catch up to. As she stepped out of the bathroom, she saw her rounding the corner, so she followed, "Quinn, wait up!"

Quinn stopped and turned a little, "what?"

"Talk to me, Quinn. We are friends and I'm concerned about you," Rachel told her.

"There isn't anything to talk about. My physical therapy is hardly working, so I'm frustrated, and the only guy that has started to show interest in me recently pulled away as we were about kiss," she said simply.

"You've given me some great advice and it worked for me. Now can I give you some?" Rachel asked and when Quinn shrugged, she continued, "you're a great person, and I'm sure Joe didn't pull away because he was grossed out because you're in a wheelchair. That would be very shallow of him. Wasn't he home-schooled all his life? I'd rather think that you're one of the first girls he's gotten close to, like that, so it's a whole new territory for him. And Joe is a Sophomore. He's two years younger than us, so even if you guys did date, what would happen when we graduate and you go to Yale? You two would probably break up, so even though there's a possibility that he could be interested in you, maybe it's better that you guys just stay friends. It'll be less complicated and there's nothing wrong with guys and girls being just friends," Rachel told her honestly.

Quinn soaked in what Rachel said and took a deep breath, "it's just been a frustrating few weeks with my physical therapy and I'm not totally thinking straight. Thanks for saying all that. You're definitely right. It is better that we stay just friends and now that you mention it, he was home-schooled, so he could be just confused at the feelings he is having for me," she agreed, smiling lightly at her.

Rachel returned her smile, "you're welcome. That's what friends are for."

...

Thursday, after school, Rachel was glad to spend the evening with her boyfriend. She told him of her duet with Santana and showed him the video. He was impressed and made her send it to him so he could have it to watch whenever he wanted, because she looked 'hot'.

Friday, Glee was quiet and the teens did some talking and even brought up some ideas for Nationals, since they hadn't really talked about the competition much. No one was really sure, but they knew it didn't hurt to suggest ideas.

As school came to an end on Friday, Rachel went home and looked forward to her boyfriend showing up at her house. When he did, the two fell into the familiar routine they'd had for a while, but they still found time to talk and Rachel filled him in on some of the things going on with the club, including the conversations she'd had with Kurt and Quinn about their relationships. She still hadn't told him about Finn's jealousy from a few days prior, but decided she'd tell him that weekend.

Puck had a few pools to clean Saturday, but he promised he'd be done early enough in the day, so they could still hang out. While he was busy, Rachel passed her time relaxing in her backyard in the sun, listening to some music on her iPhone, glad that Ohio finally started to get some sunny weekends to enjoy.

After lunch, she returned to her lounge chair outside and settled back into place, sticking her ear buds back in and listening to Whitney Houston's 'Greatest Hits' album, in honor of their weekly lesson at school. As she listened along, her eyes closed while she relaxed and soaked in the sun's rays, but soon she noticed the sun was gone. At first she thought a could had covered it up, but as she opened her eyes and they adjusted to the light, she smiled brightly and pulled out her ear buds, "hey Noah! Sorry, I didn't hear you!" She admitted, sitting up a little.

He shrugged and took a seat on the edge of her lounge by her legs, "it's okay. I just got here," he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips, "your dads said you were out here, so I thought I'd join you."

"I'm glad you did. Are you done with your pools for today?" She wondered curiously, getting a faint hint of chlorine coming from his clothes.

"Yep. When I'm just cleaning them out and not doing anything else, it goes quick," he admitted, "and I'm telling them I'm moving in a few months, so I have to make as much money as I can and have other pools to clean so I can't spend much time at each place. I hope that's alright. I figured if I told them I had a girlfriend they wouldn't pay me at all," he said softly.

Rachel nodded, "I get it. It's alright. As much as I'd like them to know you have a girlfriend, I trust you're being faithful to me," she paused, "but what if they say they'll give you more money if you do, um, other things?" She asked softly, biting her lip.

Puck rested his hand on her cheek and pressed another kiss to her lips, "no amount of money is worth cheating on you, babe. I'm not gonna do it," he promised, "I mean it."

Slipping her arms around his neck, she smiled and kissed his lips, "good to know."

...

When clouds did began to roll in, Rachel and Puck moved into the house and kicked back on the couch for a little while. "I didn't say this earlier, but you look amazing in that," he motioned to her toned body, being showed off by a bright pink sports bra and matching shorts.

"Thank you," Rachel blushed, "I didn't want to break out my bikini, so I just went with this. Is it... Are you okay with this? I can change if you'd be more comfortable."

"It's fine, babe," Puck assured her, pulling her close to him, "I can deal. You look fucking hot and I definitely enjoy the view. Now, if you're uncomfortable, then that's a different story. Get dressed if you need to, but don't do it because you're worried about me."

Rachel smiled and relaxed against his chest, her right hand gently resting on his stomach, "I'm comfortable like this around you," she murmured.

"Then that's what is important," he smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

The two were silent for a few moments and Rachel knew she needed to talk to him, and she'd spent the past few days thinking about how to bring it up, "we need to tell everyone about us."

"I know," Puck nodded in agreement, "can we at least wait until I'm back to school?"

"I guess," she nodded, "when is that going to be?"

"I think this week. My nana's doctor appointment is Monday and if everything goes well, I should be back Tuesday," he explained.

"Great!" Rachel grinned, "I've really missed you at school," she said honestly, "I totally understand why you've been gone and I hope she is doing okay, but it's just not the same without you. We don't have to tell everyone the moment you get back, but I want to soon," she bit her lip.

"What's wrong?" Puck looked at her, noticing her hesitation.

"Finn and I had an argument this week," she told him.

"Okay, about what? What did he say?" Puck asked quickly.

"Finn got jealous when he found out you have been coming over to my house to practice for my audition and that I've asked you to play during it," she said softly, "it pissed me off, because he said he was surprised I'd let you play for it and he knows what you've been like in the past and didn't realize you were different around me."

"I'm not surprised," Puck said honestly, shrugging it off, "he found out we're spending time together outside of school, so of course he's gonna get jealous. You're his ex and you're the one who broke up with him, so he's not completely over you," he admitted.

"You're probably right," she sighed, "this all happened after Joe and Quinn sang their duet. During it, I was looking around the choir room for you. I knew you weren't there, but it was habit and I saw him looking at me," she told him, "I'm over him."

Puck nodded, "I know you are, but he's not over you. Whenever we tell him, he's gonna be pissed, so you need to prepare yourself for some problems. That's part of the reason why I think we should wait until after your audition. You don't need the added stress before it."

Taking in what he said, Rachel gathered her thoughts and nodded at him, "yeah, I guess you're right. I can't be worrying about any drama before it," she agreed, "waiting for a little longer is the best, but what if others figure it out?"

"Then if you trust them, tell them. If you feel like you need to tell someone, tell them, but just make them promise to keep it to themselves. I know it sucks that we're hiding, but Finn has been a loose cannon in the past about things, so this, I know, will set him off," he explained.

"There is that," she agreed, "I guess it's best to keep doing what we've been doing and when the time is right, we'll tell them."

"Sounds good to me," he pressed a kiss to her lips, "if you're okay with it."

"I am," she nodded, closing her eyes for a moment, before opening them to glance at the piano, "when you come back to school this week, would you be interested in playing the piano for me? I'd like to sing a song for this weeks' lesson and I think I found the perfect one," she told him.

Puck shrugged, "sure. I can do that. Where's the music?" He wondered.

"Up in my room. I'll go get it," she kissed him once more before shifting to stand up, "be right back."

...

Puck was not surprised that Finn had been quick to jump into jealousy mode when he found out Rachel had been spending time with him. He totally expected it and he knew that eventually Finn would find out they were dating and hoped that by Finn knowing they were spending time together, it might help him prepare for finding out there was more going on, when the time came to tell him. Until then, he pushed the thoughts to the side, not wanting it to ruin the time he and Rachel had together.

For the rest of Saturday and even all day Sunday, Rachel and Puck worked on the Whitney song she wanted to sing. She knew she should be focusing on her audition, but she also needed a bit of a break from it, because she didn't want to get burned out.

When Monday arrived, Rachel wasn't quite ready with her Whitney song and when she got to Glee, Blaine asked to start. He had a song 'for anyone who's ever been cheated on'. All eyes turned to Kurt as he tried to say he didn't cheat on Blaine and Rachel knew right away that sometime over the weekend, Blaine had found out about the text messages Kurt had been exchanging with Chandler.

As Blaine finished 'It's Not Right, But It's Okay', he stormed out of the room, almost in tears. Everyone could tell he was pissed at Kurt and they all continued to share looks with Kurt, no one knowing what was going on, except Rachel.

Given the tension in the room, Will excused everyone and Rachel followed Kurt out of the choir room, "Kurt, are you okay?" Rachel asked as she caught up with him.

"I'm fine," he snapped, then sighed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap, but Blaine..."

Rachel nodded, "it's okay. Did you tell him about the messages?"

"No. It's worse than that. He found them," he said sadly, "we were at my place and we were in my room. My phone was on my nightstand and I left the room to get something. When I came back, he had my phone in his hand looking at them, because Chandler kept texting me and it kept going off," Kurt explained. "He hasn't talked to me all weekend, no matter what I say and I don't know what's gotten into him! He's been giving me the cold shoulder, brushing off invitations to go do things, I don't get it! And all of that was even before Chandler and I met."

"Maybe he just needs some time to cool off. Give him a day or so. You could always sing him a song," Rachel offered.

Kurt smiled, "I've already got a few picked out. I'll sing one of them tomorrow," he assured her, "I should have listened to you when you first warned me."

Rachel rested a hand on his arm and rubbed it gently, "things will work out."

...

Ever since Rachel and Santana had sung their duet in Glee the previous week, Rachel had been doing a lot of thinking. After watching the video multiple times, she realized she and Santana sounded amazing together and they should have done it a long time ago. She knew time was running out for many more chances, so she had an idea and after school, before going home, she went to find Santana.

"Hey, Santana," Rachel greeted, seeing the Cheerio digging in her locker.

Santana turned around, "hey," she said, slightly confused as to why she was talking to her. "Can I help you with something?"

Rachel smiled, "I don't think I've completely thanked you for inviting me to sing with you last week. I had fun," she told her honestly.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool," Santana agreed.

"You know we blew it, right? We wasted three years going at each other's throats, when we could have been singing together. Killing it in Glee Club," Rachel commented, looking at her.

"Well, we hated each other. Actually, I hated you," Santana said, and when she saw Rachel biting her lip, she realized she shouldn't have said it that way, "sorry. Yes, our duet in Glee was a whole truckload of awesome and who cares that it took three years? I mean, we still have plenty of time to do it again."

"No we don't," Rachel shook her head, "we have forty-two days left until graduation. Half of that's going to be prepping for Nationals. I mean, that was it," she said honestly.

"Oh crap. I think I just realized I'm gonna miss you," Santana groaned, "oh God! Say something irritating so I can get the taste of this out of my head, please!"

Rachel laughed lightly, "it's okay. Look, you went out of your way to make my life a living hell for three years, but when this is all over," she motioned around the hallways a little, "I know that you respect my talent and my ambition."

"I do," Santana confirmed, "and I like it when you sing. I guess I just didn't want to admit it," she shrugged.

"Well, we should change that. I know we only have a short time left at McKinley, so we probably won't be able to sing together, but we have forty-two days left to at least be friends. What do you say?" Rachel asked curiously.

Santana was silent for a moment, but nodded, "yeah, I think we could do that," she agreed.

"Great! I'm going to hug you now. It'll be quick," Rachel promised, slipping her free arm around the cheerleader's body and gave her a quick hug. As they pulled back, Rachel smiled at her, "I'll see you in Glee Club."

...

Once Rachel got home, her boyfriend arrived a little bit later and he informed her that his grandma was doing well and he'd be back to school the next day. She was glad she was okay and looked forward to when he returned to school, because she'd missed him. The two settled into their routine and between working on her audition and the song she wanted to sing for Glee, they also talked about anything that came to mind and she caught him up on what had gone on that day, so when he returned, he wouldn't be completely unaware of what was going on.

...

Rachel could hardly contain her excitement when she walked into McKinley the next morning. She even had an extra bounce in her step that she usually didn't and she knew it was from being happy that Puck was finally back at school. Given their schedule, she knew she wouldn't see him until later, but just knowing he was back made her giddy.

Later in the morning, as she pushed her things into her locker, so she could go to Glee, Puck walked up to her, "hey, babe."

Rachel smiled brightly, "hey, Noah. I'm so glad you're back," she said, closing her locker.

"I'm surprised I'm gonna say this, but I'm actually glad to be back. I kinda missed it around here," he smiled as they began to walk towards the choir room. "It's gonna be weird when we graduate."

"It will be," she agreed, "time is getting shorter. In some ways I feel like it's going too fast, but in other ways I'm excited."

"Yeah, I know. Ever since you told me why Mr. Schue wanted to do Whitney songs, and especially since we've been working on that song of hers, I realized it's pretty close. Less than two months," Puck admitted.

Rachel nodded, "yes, but I'm glad you're coming with me to New York," she said truthfully.

Puck smiled at her and returned her nod, "yeah, I definitely am, too."

...

Getting into Glee, Puck and Rachel took seats in the back row and everyone that started coming in, welcomed him back and when Will came into the class to start Glee, he also mentioned he was glad to see Puck was back. Will asked if anyone had a song to sing and Kurt stood up and soon the teens were listening to him singing another Whitney song, called 'I Have Nothing'. It was his way to apologize to Blaine and everyone kept glancing at Blaine, wondering how he was going to react to it.

During the song, Rachel couldn't help letting her hand rest on Puck's knee. Finn was sitting in front of them, so she knew he couldn't see it and though it was definitely a risky move, because others could see them, she didn't care. She shared a glance with Puck and he smiled lightly at her as he rested his hand on her's. The simple touch, along with the words of the song, helped silently tell the other that they wanted to make their relationship work, no matter what, even if the coming weeks would be tough and almost like a test for them; to see if they could deal with the stressful times and keep their relationship strong.

When Kurt finished singing, Blaine was almost in tears, but he kept quiet and Kurt was the one to walk out of the class this time. Rachel wanted to go after him, to see if he was okay, but Puck stopped her, "he needs some space," he murmured.

Rachel sighed and nodded, hating to see that one of her best friends and his boyfriend were going through a rough patch, but she knew Kurt did need some space to clear his head, so she gave in and settled into her seat.

Once the teens relaxed and even Blaine walked out of the classroom, going in a different direction than Kurt, Will asked if anyone else wanted to share something. Rachel admitted she did, but asked if she could go the next day and Will said that would be fine. With time still left in class, they all spent it talking about ideas for Nationals and brainstorming costume ideas.

...

When Glee was over the couple went their own ways, but met up during lunch, working on her audition song. They were both happy to get back to their usual routine and being in the auditorium, it gave them some private time, away from the busy halls of McKinley to talk or kiss, without people seeing and wondering what was going on with them.

Ever since Rachel had told Puck about the reason for doing Whitney songs, and then her picking the song she did to sing, he'd been doing a lot of thinking and realized that graduation was coming up and there were some guys that had become his best friends over the past few years and he wanted to thank him, so while he'd been off, he'd picked up a few things to give them during their gym class that afternoon.

Finishing up a game of basketball in the gym, the five guys moved back into the locker room and they were all standing near him, so he knew it was the perfect time to give them the gifts. "Hey bros, here you go," he said pulling out several small gift bags from his locker and handing one to Sam, Mike, Blaine and Finn, "I was inspired by the goody bags they give out at the end of birthday parties; thought I'd try it. A little something from the Puckster to all of you," he smiled at them, watching the guys take out the black shot glasses and red guitar picks from the bags.

"Guitar pick, sweet," Finn smiled, looking at the red item in his hand.

"And a shot glass that says '2012' on it, cool," Mike said, looking at the black ceramic item.

Puck nodded, "I had the picks inscribed with 'The Dudes of Glee 2012'. Shot glasses all say '2012'. Sorry they're not too original."

"It's okay. Thanks, man. What's this for?" Blaine wondered, looking at him.

"Rachel kept me informed of what was going on here and when she told me what the Whitney lesson was, I realized that the clock's tickin. Time's coming. We're all gonna have to say 'audios', some of us forever. I want to make sure you guys remember all the bro-ments that we had together and the great things we accomplished, forever. I know I haven't always been the perfect friend or teammate, but you stuck by me and forgiven me... Not everyone in my life has done that and it really means a lot to me," he shook off the 'sappy' words and moved back to his locker to get his own shot glass, "anyways, I'm only going to say this once. I'm gonna miss all of you. I love you guys. Cheers!" He said, holding his glass out to them.

The four guys moved closer, gently tapping all of their glasses together, "cheers!" They all said, smiling at each other, knowing everything Puck had said was something they'd all been meaning to say at some point and were glad he'd thought to initiate the moment.

...

After school, Puck and Rachel headed to her house to work on the Whitney song for the next day, and he mentioned what he'd talked to the guys about and given them. Rachel liked it and thought it was very thoughtful and meaningful for them to share that moment, because she knew the guys had a hard time talking about their feelings at times. Puck was glad she liked what he'd done and suggested doing something for the club before the end of the year and she agreed she'd figure something out.

...

With a quiet Wednesday morning, Rachel and Puck were ready for her song and once they got to Glee and Will had greeted everyone, Will welcomed Rachel up in front of the class for her song.

Puck moved to the piano and sat down with the sheet music in front of him, and Rachel took a seat on a stool a few feet from Puck and the piano, "I know I already sang a duet with Santana for this lesson, but I did want to sing something to you all. I know this lesson was to help us express what we're feeling and this song definitely does. Most of you, I honestly never thought I'd be friends with, but I'm happy I was wrong. I really care about all of you and over these past three years, I've become close friends with most of you and I'm very thankful for that," Rachel admitted, glancing at Puck and smiling at him, before turning back to everyone else, "this is a song Whitney did as a duet with Cece Winans on the 'Waiting To Exhale' soundtrack, but it's also on Whitney's 'Greatest Hits' album. It's called 'Count On Me' and this is dedicated to all of you," she smiled, already feeling tears in her eyes as she nodded at Puck.

Taking the cue, Puck began playing the music on the piano and Rachel started singing the chorus moments later, "_count on me through thick and thin. Our friendship that will never end. When you are weak I will be strong, helping you to carry on. Call on me, I will be there. Don't be afraid. Please believe me when I say 'count on me',_" Rachel looked around at her friends and could already see some of the girls wiping her eyes and her own tears were building, but she held them back so she could continue, "_I can see it's hurting you. I can feel your pain. It's hard to see the sunshine through the rain. I know sometimes it seems as if it's never gonna end, but you'll get through it. Just don't give in, 'cause you can..._"

Continuing on with the chorus again, Rachel stood up and moved towards her friends, who were joining in to sing the chorus with her, sharing hand shakes and high-fives as she walked past them.

Tears were falling from her eyes as they finished chorus and she picked up with next verse, "_I know sometimes it seems as if we're standing all alone, but we'll get through it, 'cause love won't let us fall,_" she sang, moving over to her boyfriend and slipped an arm around his shoulders as they all started singing the chorus once more.

When the song ended, everyone was wiping tears from their eyes. Puck stood up and he and Rachel moved back to their friends, "I know a lot of us are going in different directions, but I hope our friendships lasts forever," Rachel said honestly, looking at Quinn, Kurt, Tina, and the others.

"Definitely," Quinn nodded, wheeling forward a little and reaching out to take her hand, "I want to be friends with you, all of you, forever," she said truthfully.

Rachel wiped her eyes and smiled brightly, leaning down to hug Quinn, and then Puck joined them and soon the whole club was crowding around to share in a large group hug, with everyone promising to do their best to keep in touch. Strong friendships had been formed over the past few years and none of them wanted to let go of them anytime soon.

...

The rest of the day continued much like normal and as Rachel walked to her locker at the end of the day, she was looking forward to going home. The day had been emotional for her, Puck and their friends and she just wanted to go back to her place and relax with her boyfriend, like they'd been doing for the past few weeks.

Spinning the dial, she unlocked her locker and pulled her door open, gasping at what sat inside: a large red and white slushy cup, filled with her favorite flavor - grape. A clear straw was sunk down into it and a folded note was taped to the cup, so she carefully reached for it and pulled it off. Opening it up, she found a message typed up and she immediately knew it was from her secret admirer, "_My star, Rachel - I'm sorry I haven't left you anything for a while, but I have my reasons. I know you and Puck started dating three weeks ago and he's definitely one lucky guy. I hope he makes you happy. You deserve all the happiness in the world and I hope one day I can be the one who makes you happy. Sincerely, Your Secret Admirer... PS - turn around._"

Some of the comments confused her and she was surprised he knew that she and Puck were dating. Rereading the message and seeing the two words at the bottom, she dropped her bag to the floor and set the note in her locker, before turning around like it asked. As she did, her focus landed on who was leaning against the lockers behind her, holding his own slushy cup. Her eyes widened in shock, "oh my God! You've been my Secret Admirer all along?" She gasped, tears filling her eyes as she walked towards him.

"I have been," he nodded, pushing off the lockers to meet her in the middle of the hallway, "it started out because I knew you were upset and I wanted to help cheer you up. Then after Regionals, it was because I'm... I'm not the best expressing my feelings all the time, so it's easier for me to write them out or give gifts to say what I'm trying to," he explained, rubbing his neck nervously, "are you mad?"

"Oh, Noah, how could I be mad?" She asked, reaching up to rest her hands on his cheeks, "all of your gifts and notes have meant so much to me," she admitted, slipping her arms around his neck as tears fell from his eyes, "they have been the best gifts I've ever gotten. Thank you," she told him truthfully.

Relieved that she wasn't upset, he returned her hug and as they began to pull apart, he smiled, "you're welcome. I meant everything I said, too. You're going to be a star. You deserve to be happy and I hope I can be the one who makes you happy."

Rachel leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips, not caring who saw them, "you make me feel so special and now that I know all those messages were from you, too, I feel even more important. Before we were together, you were complimenting and supporting me and my dreams and I'm so thankful to have you in my life. I don't ever want to let you go."

Puck reached up and wiped her eyes, "I'm not going anywhere," he promised, "I want us to work, babe. I mean it."

"Me too," she agreed, stepping back a few feet to her locker to pick up her slushy cup and held it up to him, "to making this work," she smiled happily.

With a smile, he tapped his cup to hers and nodded, "to making this work. Happy three weeks," he said before taking a sip of the cold drink.

Rachel sipped on the grape flavored syrup and ice mixture for a moment and then slid her arm around his waist and smiled at him, "a very happy three weeks."

...

Rachel was on cloud nine when she got to school the next morning. She knew she was getting some strange looks as she skipped down the hallway, but she didn't care. She was happy and couldn't contain it anymore.

"How much sugar did you have for breakfast?" Kurt asked, following her to her locker.

She laughed lightly and shook her head, "none, except the natural sugar that was in my apple. Why?" She wondered, opening up her locker.

Kurt leaned against the lockers near her, "because you're skipping down the hall and have a bright grin on your face."

"Oh, that... I'm just really happy right now, that's all," she said honestly, "I had an amazing day yesterday, after school."

"What did you do? Did you have sex?" He laughed, trying to figure her out.

Rachel glanced around the hallway to make sure no one they knew was nearby and then turned back to him, glad she'd thought to ask Puck the night before if she could tell Kurt, "no, I didn't have sex," she assured him, "but can you keep a secret?"

Kurt raised a curious eyebrow at her, "a secret? What kind of secret?"

"The kind you can't tell Finn at all," she bit her lip a little, "I'm dying to tell someone, and I want to tell you, but you have to promise me you won't say anything to him."

"I promise I won't tell Finn," he said honestly, "now tell me!"

"Yesterday makes three weeks since Noah and I started dating officially. Yesterday he also admitted he's been my Secret Admirer all along," she grinned brightly.

"Oh my God! Are you talking about Puck... That Noah?" Kurt gasped.

"Yes and we went out to dinner to celebrate... Kurt, I'm so happy with him; he makes me feel things that I've never felt before. He touches my hand and I feel sparks all over my body and when we kiss," she sighed dreamily, "it's like the Fourth of July."

Kurt smiled at her, "wow. I'm really happy for you. You deserve that feeling."

"Thank you," she smiled, "we're waiting to tell everyone after my audition. He doesn't want me to have the extra stress, in case Finn doesn't take it well," she explained.

"That's totally understandable and it is best to wait. I promise I'll keep your secret," he assured her again, "and my stress is a little less now, too."

"Really? What happened?" Rachel wondered, "have you and Blaine worked things out?"

"Not completely, but we did talk to Ms. Pillsbury yesterday and he finally admitted why he's been so distant," Kurt said, "he's upset because I'm leaving for New York this summer and he'll be stuck here for another year and most of our conversations deal with that or NYADA, so he's trying to see what it's like when I'm not here all the time," he sighed.

"Oh, Kurt, I'm so sorry. I didn't think about that when you told me how upset he got. So you guys got a chance to talk?" Rachel asked softly, reaching out to rest a hand on his forearm.

"Yeah, we came up with some things we need to work on and I'm gonna try to keep New York and NYADA from our conversations all the time and I've already told Chandler not to text me anymore," he explained, "Blaine and I love each other so much and I don't want to leave him, so I definitely don't like this situation, but it's only a year, and then he can join us."

"That is true," Rachel agreed, "but a year is a long time."

"I know, but I think we're strong enough to make it through," he said truthfully.

"Well, I'm glad you guys are starting to work things out," she told him with a smile.

"Me too," he returned her smile, "and you and Puck are together. Awesome. I guess Mr. Schue's 'Whitney Week' was a big one for both of us."

Rachel nodded, "yes I think it was."

...

When Puck met Rachel at her locker just before Glee, she told him Kurt knew about them. He was fine with him knowing and the two walked together to the choir room. Greeting their friends and taking their seats, they waited for Will to join them and when he did, he pulled a stool up into the front of the classroom and took a seat, "thank you to everyone who did a song this week. They were all amazing and I hope they helped you guys out with saying 'goodbye'. I'll be honest, I've been dealing with my own issues of saying 'goodbye'," he said truthfully.

"What do you mean, Mr. Schue? Are you going somewhere?" Finn asked.

"No, I'm not going anywhere," Will shook his head, "when I decided we'd do Whitney songs, it hit me that half of you won't be here next year. You'll be off, starting your new lives and I was worried if Emma and I waited to get married later in the year, that you guys wouldn't come back for it, because I want all of you there," he said honestly. "You guys changed my life and we've been through so much together in these past three years that I don't want you to leave, but I know you have to. I'm going to miss all of you so much," he finished, taking a deep breath as he tried to hold in his tears.

"Mr. Schuester, I think I speak for everyone here, when I say that we will all be at your wedding, whenever you plan to have it," Rachel said smiling at him and others nodded in agreement or said something similar to what Rachel had.

"That's really good to hear," Will replied, calming down a moment, "um, the only other thing I have to tell you is that there's no 'Booty Camp' after school today. Sue has a doctor's appointment and I figure that we could all use a break, so take the afternoon off."

...

"It just doesn't seem right," Rachel commented softly, digging her books out of her locker after school.

"What doesn't?" Puck asked, leaning against the bank of lockers near hers.

"Skipping Glee," she replied, "we should go."

"But Mr. Schue is giving us the afternoon off. And Finn said that he was gonna go to the shop and work a few extra hours and Joe was gonna take Quinn to physical therapy, so everyone has plans," Puck shrugged, "I guess we could go hang out there and practice your song for your audition. It's either do it here or at your place."

"Maybe someone will be there. I just want to spend as much time with everyone as we can before we graduate," she said, stuffing her bag into her locker and reached for his. Puck let her have it and she put it into her locker, "let's go for a little while. If no one shows, then we can leave," she told him.

Puck sighed, but nodded, "alright. I know the music for your song by heart now, so I don't need the music," he added, holding out his arm for her, "let's go."

...

Walking towards the auditorium, they slipped into one of the side doors and heard music, so they knew someone was there. As they stepped in one side by of the seats, they saw Blaine and Kurt walking in from the opposite side from them and realized Mercedes and Artie were on stage singing 'My Love Is Your Love', another Whitney Houston song.

Puck, Rachel, Kurt and Blaine smiled and met in the center aisle and while Kurt and Rachel hugged, Blaine and Puck gave each other a high-five before the four walked down the aisle and up the stairs onto the stage. Greeting Mercedes and Artie, they joined in to sing the chorus and Rachel guided Puck over to the bench sitting on the stage. As they reached it, Finn came in from the backstage area, waving at Puck, so the two guys shook hands and Finn took a seat on a stool, right behind the bench that Rachel and Puck sat down on.

Slowly Brittany, Santana, Sam, Rory, Sugar, Joe, Quinn, Mike and Tina arrived and happily joined in, everyone singing the chorus and sharing hugs, handshakes or waves to each other as they found places to stand or sit on stage. It was definitely an impromptu performance, but the teens had come to love them. They loved being together as a team, not bickering about choreography or who should sing the solos. It was a fun moment and as the song ended, everyone stood up and shared another group hug.

"You know what this means, right?" Rachel asked them.

Puck raised a curious eyebrow at her, "what's that?"

"We need to clean out our lockers and take down the Whitney pictures," she said honestly, "I think we've all been able to let her go in peace."

...

Music - just borrowing for fiction; I don't own!

'Count On Me - duet of Whitney Houston and Cece Winans. It was originally on the soundtrack for 'Waiting To Exhale', but it's also on Whitney's 'Greatest Hits' album. In writing this chapter and knowing what the show's 'lesson of the week' was, this is one of the songs that should have been in the show, considering it fits perfectly with the lesson, which is why I included it in here.

...

Lots of notes... please read them... Question below, too...

A/N3: I'd like dedicate this chapter and 'Count On Me' to all of you! To my readers, reviewers, all the friends I've made through my fiction, the Glee fandom, the Puckleberry bubble... You all know who you are and I hope our relationships never end!

A/N4: I hope you enjoyed. After watching Props/Nationals last week, I was inspired to work on this again and I wanted to have it finished before the Glee season 3 finale aired. Please review and let me know what you think!

A/N5: The graduation episode airs tomorrow (5/22) and I'm emotional. I'm currently planning my 10-year reunion for this summer (I graduated from high school in 2002) and all the Glee graduation spoilers, pictures, music and my reunion planning is bringing up tons of feelings and emotions; a lot that I never felt when I actually graduated. I couldn't wait to get out of school and had some things going on, so I just didn't care or feel the sad emotions that I should have back then. It's almost like Glee's graduation is helping me relive my graduation and making me feel all the emotions that I should have had back then... I'm also not ready for Glee to change... I've heard the whole cast will be 'back' for season 4, but not all of them will be in each episode, so I imagine they'll focus on New York and Ohio and then add a few scenes in of the others wherever they are, or they'll be visiting Ohio or New York in their scenes, so they won't be in it as much. Not really sure if I'll watch anything after this. The true Glee for me, died at the end of season 1, so season 2 and 3 have just been, I guess you could say, filler. We'll see what happens...

A/N6: It's come to my attention that some of the Puckleberry writers have stepped away from writing, possibly for good. They have their reasons and it's totally understandable; I'm not knocking what they're doing... I just wanted to let you all know that I will always ship and write Puckleberry. I'm not going anywhere!

A/N7: I'm still dealing with my medical issues and am going to a specialist this week. Hopefully I'll have some more answers, soon. Surgery is still possible, too.

**Question:** I'm trying to sort out the next few 'episodes' for this fic. I know Becky played a large part in the prom episode, 3x19, and I loved her story line for it. Becky is awesome! She's such a great character, but unfortunately, I don't know how I can fit her into the Puckleberry plans I have for the chapter, so if I'm unable to, would you all be okay if I didn't include her in it?

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	6. Part 6: '3x18' '6a & 6b on LJ'

Title: Breakaway, Part 6/?

**Spoilers:** This part to '3x18 - Choke'; whole series will be through the Glee season 3 finale.

Disclaimer1: I don't own Glee, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N1: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

Disclaimer2: Title from one of my favorite Kelly Clarkson songs 'Breakaway'. Just borrowing. I don't own!

...

Disclaimer3: Any familiar lines from the episode listed have been underlined... Just borrowing them! I don't own!

A/N3: In going back through each scene of 'Choke', I realized they jumped around a lot. It's only supposed to cover a few days, but they kept flashing back to days before and bouncing around, so I've sorted out a chronological order of how things happened... In other words, things will still happen that did in the show, but they may not be in the same order we saw them. I just wanted to let you know, in case you're wondering.

...

**3x18 - Choke**

...

It's a Thursday afternoon, and Rachel had something on her mind. She and Puck have been together officially for four weeks and a day and it's been a little over a week since he'd admitted he was her Secret Admirer. She'd hoped that with his admission, he wouldn't keep any more secrets from her, but after accidentally overhearing a conversation he had with one of his teachers that morning, and him not mentioning anything about it during lunch when they worked on her audition song, she needed to talk to him.

Usually he found her between classes, but she went in search of him and saw him at his locker, "Noah, we need to talk," she started, moving to stand next to him.

Puck turned to her and raised a curious eyebrow, "alright. Um, did I do something to upset you?" He asked, closing his locker gently.

Rachel shook her head, "no, but do you have anything you'd like to tell me?" She asked, giving him a chance to bring it up first.

"No, I don't," he replied, not sure what she was getting at.

"I overheard you talking to one of your teachers," she bit her lip nervously, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I saw you so I was going to talk to you, but," she sighed, "I heard her tell you that if you don't pass her test next week that she'll have to fail you, which means you won't be able to graduate on time," she said sadly, "Noah, I didn't realize your grades in that class were that bad. Why didn't you tell me?"

Puck sighed, and turned, motioning down the hall for her to walk with him, "I didn't want to say anything, because the last thing you need is to be worrying about me and my grades. Your audition is next week and you need to focus on that," he said honestly.

"Noah, but I still care about you and I should have known this. What if you don't pass?" She asked nervously, trying not to panic.

"I'm sure I'll pass it. Don't worry," he draped an arm around her shoulders to help calm her down, "since I was out for several weeks and never thought to get any make-up work for it, I'm gonna talk to her tomorrow and see if she will let me take the test later."

"Oh, um, okay. Hopefully she'll allow that. Are you doing okay in your other classes?" She asked softly.

Puck nodded, "I'm passing auto shop, wood shop and metal shop, so this is the only class I need to deal with."

Rachel took a deep breath and nodded, "okay. I just wish you would have told me. I can help you study."

"It's alright, babe. Don't worry about me. I'll take care of this. I just want you focused on your audition," he said honestly, "practice after school at your house?" He asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Yes, my place after school. I quite enjoy our after school practices," she smiled at him, glancing around a little and then leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips once they stopped outside her class.

Puck returned her kiss, "then I'll see you after school," he promised with a smile.

Rachel nodded and turned to walk into the room and once she was inside, Puck headed towards his next class and sighed, "_fuck, what the hell are you going to do, man? Mrs. Doosenberry isn't going to let you take the test later,_" he thought walking down the hallway, "_I'm better off dropping out of school and doing odd jobs around town to make money until Rachel graduates and then I'll have more saved up for when we move to New York,_" he told himself, "_that's not such a bad idea, actually... But she's probably not going to want to date me anymore... She deserves better than a high school drop-out. Fuck, what the hell am I going to do?_"

...

Rachel trusted that Puck had everything under control, so she didn't bring up their conversation in the hallway again, while they were at her house working on her audition piece and hanging out.

When Friday morning arrived, Rachel went on like usual and while she was at her locker before Glee, she got a text from Puck, "_talking to my teacher. Meet you in Glee._" Glad to hear he was talking to her, Rachel went to the choir room to wait for him there and hoped he was able to work out something with his teacher.

Greeting her friends and taking a seat near Kurt to talk to him about their NYADA auditions the following week, she didn't think anything was wrong, until everyone had entered the choir room, except Puck, and Will was starting class. Just after Will began talking, Puck walked into the room, wearing all black, including a leather jacket and grabbed the nearest guitar, turned on the amp and began rocking out to 'School's Out'.

Everyone jumped in shock, as they watched him bounce around and jam on the guitar. The song itself, though good for an end of the year song, didn't make sense with over a month left before school was out, so the teens and Will were all confused why he picked it.

Music was a great way for Puck to show his feelings and when he talked to his teacher, he got pissed off and went to Glee afterward, doing the only thing he could to express what was going on. In his mind, he was rocking out on the football field, with Cheerios dancing along to his song, but in reality, he was jumping around the choir room, rocking out.

As the song came to an end, he dropped the guitar to the floor, waking him from the daydream he'd been in. Glancing around the room briefly, he saw the shocked faces of his friends and teacher, and then his eyes landed on his girlfriend. Her mouth was hanging open in shock and he couldn't face her at the moment. He needed some time to cool off, so without a word, he turned on his heel and walked out of the classroom, heading for the parking lot; he was done with high school.

...

"What the hell just happened?" Santana asked as Puck walked out of the room.

Kurt reached out and placed a hand on Rachel's shoulder, "Rachel, what's up with him?" He asked, knowing of their relationship.

Jumping when Kurt touched her, Rachel snapped from the daze she'd been in to gather her thoughts. She knew it wasn't necessarily her place to tell them, but she also knew Puck wouldn't, "um, all I know is that he was going to talk to his teacher today about postponing his test, because he missed so much school," she explained, "um, if he doesn't pass it next week, she'll fail him, which means he won't be able to graduate," she murmured, taking a deep breath, "I um... I'll..."

Without another word said, she stood up and rushed out of the room, hoping to catch up to her boyfriend, but had no clue where he had gone. Given the words of the song, she had a feeling she'd find him leaving school and as she finally reached the exit, and looked out into the parking lot, she saw his truck pulling out of a parking space. Walking as fast as she could, she tried to chase after him, but he was driving out of the parking lot before she could get anywhere near him. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she quickly sent a text message to him, "_Noah! Don't leave! We can fix whatever it is!_"

Feeling tears in her eyes, she took a deep breath, "_oh, Noah, what are you doing? Don't do this... Don't give up. We can figure this out..._" She thought, jumping a little as her phone vibrated in her hand. Seeing a text from her boyfriend, she opened it up to read, "_I'll be at your house after school._"

Though she wished she could have gotten more from him, she settled for that and responded with, "_I will see you there. Noah, I hope you know I care about you._" She wanted him to know how she felt, even if it was just being concerned about him. They'd only been together for a short time and she definitely felt more for him, but she wasn't sure she was ready to use the word 'love', yet, but hoped one day she could.

Walking back into McKinley Rachel was lost in her thoughts. She knew, without being told directly, that her boyfriend's conversation with his teacher didn't go as he planned. She figured he decided to just give up, which is what caused him to sing 'School's Out'; he was dropping out of school. "_Oh, Noah, I know you're stubborn and I can only imagine what you're feeling right now, but don't run away. We can figure this out,_" she thought with a sigh. She hoped she could talk him out of his drastic choice, but also knew she couldn't push him too much, or he'd probably run further away, so she agreed she needed to take things slow. She'd talk to him after school to see what happened and then take things one step at a time.

Rachel found herself walking back into the choir room, where most of the club was still hanging out. They immediately asked if she'd caught up to Puck, but she shook her head, 'no'. "I didn't. I got outside in time to see him pulling out of the school parking lot. He did message me and told me he'd be at my house after school. He's been coming over so we can work on my audition for NYADA, so hopefully later on and this weekend I can talk him out of dropping out school," she explained.

The bell rang to end class, so no one got a chance to respond, but Rachel could tell everyone was shocked Puck was dropping out. They all filed out of the class, and needing to get on with her day, Rachel headed to her locker to get her things for her next class.

After going in the opposite direction as Blaine, Kurt caught up to Rachel at her locker, "hey. Do you really think he's gonna drop out?" He asked softly.

Rachel sighed, "I don't know. I'm hoping he's just upset and needs some time to cool off. I also know I can't lecture him too much, or he'll probably totally give up, so I'm just going to be a concerned and caring girlfriend and see how things go," she explained.

"Understandable. If you need to talk, I'm here," Kurt told her.

"Thanks," Rachel smiled, "that means a lot."

...

To say that Puck was upset was an understatement. His teacher was not willing to give him any special treatment, even considering the special circumstances that caused him to miss so much school. He knew there was no way he'd be able to cram a year's worth of World Geography into his brain in less than a week, to even get a 'D-' on the test, so he figured it was easier to just drop out.

As he left McKinley, he saw Rachel outside, trying to stop him, but he didn't want to drag her into his mess, so he kept going. When he got her first message, he responded that he'd be at her house after school, mentally adding, "_to give back your music. I'm sure you're not gonna want to date a high school drop-out. You deserve better than that._"

When Rachel's second reply came, he was shocked to see the words 'I care about you'. He knew she did, but for her to tell him, meant even more at that moment, and a little hope was restored in him that maybe she wouldn't break up with him after all. "_Rachel deserves better than a high school drop-out, so if she doesn't break up with me, I need to. I'll only hold her back. She needs to just move on to achieve her dreams in New York because I'm just the Lima Loser everyone thought I'd be,_" Puck sighed, chucking his phone into the passenger seat, not bothering to reply to her message.

...

Finishing out the school day, Rachel was nervous to get home. She needed to talk to her boyfriend and figure out what was going on. She hadn't heard from him the rest of the day, but she expected it, and couldn't help imagining what he was thinking or doing. "_I'm sure he figures that I don't want him anymore. Well, Noah Puckerman, you have another thing coming. I'm not giving up on you. I care about you too much to just watch you drop out and give up,_" she thought, nodding as she closed her closer and made her way to the parking lot. "_You need to graduate, Noah. If you don't pass this test, that doesn't mean it's all over. There are ways of making up the grades. You could take a summer school class and by the end of summer you'd have your diploma, but I don't think we need to think that far off. I believe if you just relax and study you could get a passing grade. I'm sure you're going to be stubborn and I'm not going to push you constantly because I know you'll get mad at me, but I definitely want to help you._"

Rachel's thoughts occupied her as she reached her car and started her drive home. Emotions continued to build as she got closer to her house and as she pulled up in front, she parked behind Puck's truck and noticed he was sitting on her porch stairs. Taking a deep breath, she climbed out of her car and grabbed her bag, then closed her doors and walked towards him. She could tell he was upset and he didn't even look up when she got near him, so she set her bag down on the stairs and took a seat right next to him, resting a hand on his thigh, "hey Noah," she said softly.

"Hey," he murmured, taking a deep breath. Reaching for something next to him, he picked up the large folder full of sheet music she'd given him, "I brought back your music."

"You didn't need to do that," she said, refusing to take it.

"Yeah I did," he sighed and stood up, leaving the folder sitting on the steps near her, "you deserve better than a high school drop-out Lima Loser. That's all I am. I'm only going to hold you back and I'm not that good playing music. I'll probably fuck up your audition, so it's better if I just walk away. You've still got time for Brad or someone else to learn the music for your audition," he commented, "and you're probably going to break up with me. If you're not, then I think we should, because I'm probably only gonna ruin your life."

Tears filled Rachel's eyes and she stood up to face him, "do you really think that little of me? Of yourself? That you're a Lima Loser?" She asked, and as he turned his gaze to the ground, she knew he was trying to hide his feelings, "we're not going to break up because of this. Don't tell me who I deserve. I deserve someone who makes me feel fireworks when they touch me and someone who treats me like I'm special. You do that," she reached up and rested her hands on his cheeks, "Noah, you picked me and Glee over football years ago. You helped talk me out of getting a nose job last year and this year, after breaking up with Finn, you spent months being my 'Secret Admirer', just to cheer me up and help me get through our break up. That's the Noah Puckerman I fell for. A diploma doesn't change my feelings for you, so don't even think that I'm letting go of you because of this. I know you're upset, but I want to know what happened and I want to help you."

With her hands on his cheeks, he couldn't look away, so while she spoke, Puck closed his eyes and contemplated her words. As she finished, he looked at her again and saw tears falling from her eyes, "you don't want to break up with me?"

"No, I don't," she said firmly, "I'm not giving up on you or us."

Relief washed over him at her words. For the moment, he didn't care about what happened at school, what he was happy about was that she still wanted to be with him, even with the drama from school and that meant so much to him. Reaching out, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, "thank you," he murmured, ignoring the feelings he had about school to focus on her and their relationship.

Rachel smiled and happily wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug, "we'll get through this together," she murmured, pulling back gently to press a kiss to his lips, "now that it's clear we're not breaking up, let's go inside and talk about what happened at school," she suggested.

"Uh, yeah, okay," he sighed, knowing she wouldn't let him get by without an explanation.

...

Moving into her house, her dads weren't home, so after a few moments of taking their jackets off and getting some water, the two settled onto the couch to continue talking, "so, what happened when you talked to your teacher?"

Puck sighed, "I asked her if I could take the test later, because I'd missed so much school. She told me that since I haven't done any work for her all semester she doesn't think it's fair to give me an extension on the test. She said I should have been more concerned about my grades when I could have done something to make sure I was at least passing, but now that it's close to graduation it's too late to do anything. She said she's already giving me 'special consideration' anyway. This is her last test of the year. She said whatever I get on the test, she'll give me as my grade for the semester, and she'll overlook at the work I never did," he paused and took a deep breath, "I'm 'street smart', not 'book smart'. I know I'm going to fail it, so I figured there was no point in taking it and failing anyway, so I'll drop out and work odd jobs around town to make some extra money and then when you graduate, we'll have more money to move to New York with," he explained, preparing for the lecture he figured he'd get.

Rachel sat so she was facing him and took his hand in her's, squeezing it gently. During the few hours after this happened, she'd done some thinking and had come up with several things that he'd said, so she expected a lot of it, "Noah, I imagine you're expecting me to lecture you, but I'm not going to. What I am going to say is that I think you should take the test to see what you get. You might surprise yourself. You could pass it and then don't have to drop out," she smiled at him, "I believe you can do it, if you put your mind to it. If you don't pass it, then at least you can say you tried. Like I said, a diploma doesn't change my feelings for you, but Noah, graduating from high school is a big deal and I want you up on that stage with me when we throw our caps. You deserve to graduate," she shifted and wrapped her arms around him, "so please, just think about that before you decide to drop out for good, okay?"

Holding her against him, Puck felt tears fall from his eyes, "_she believes in me. No one ever has,_" he thought, "_maybe I could do this._" He knew he had a lot to think about, but knowing she believed he could do it, give him an incentive to think about trying, "can I think about it for a while?"

"Of course," Rachel nodded, "I know I can't force you to do something you don't want to do, but I want you to know that I'm here for you, just like you've been here for me. Take the time you need to figure out what you want," she pressed a kiss to his lips, "and we'll go from there, okay?"

"Okay," he smiled, "thank you. I just need some space from school to think, but it really means a lot to know that you believe in me. I've never really had that from anyone."

Rachel kissed him again and rested a hand on his cheek, "that's what friends and girlfriends are for," she smiled, "what kind of person would I be if I turned my back on you when you need someone the most? Especially when you've been there for me, encouraging me and telling me that I can be the star I've always dreamed of. It's time to let me repay you, but you've got to promise me you'll still play for my audition."

"Yeah, I guess I will, if you still want me to. Do you really think I'm that good?" He asked biting his lip.

"Yes, Noah, I do. You're very musically talented and I'd be honored to have you on that stage with me," she told him honestly, "and I don't want it to be the last time we perform together, either. Promise me we'll do it again."

Puck smiled, "alright. I'll play for your audition and I promise we can do a duet or something else together."

"Awesome!" Rachel kissed him once more and smiled, "just don't take too long to figure out about school. There's not much time left."

He nodded, "yeah, I know. Just give me a few days to think everything out."

...

Having gone through a break-up in the past, Rachel was familiar with needing space to sort out thoughts and feelings. With that on her mind, even though it wasn't quite the same situation, she still had a good idea of the dilemma he was facing, and reluctantly settled to let Puck have the space he needed to make his own choice. She didn't want to force him to do something he didn't want to do, but she wanted to offer to help him study that weekend, instead of working on her audition, but she decided not to. She knew he was still in the 'thinking' stage and didn't want him to feel like she was trying to rush him, so she 'stepped back' and decided to change the subject to something else.

Puck was so thankful to have Rachel in his life. Not only did she believe in him, she was giving him the space he needed to figure things out. He knew dropping out of school was a bad idea, but he didn't see himself passing the test. He hadn't made his decision yet, and would still need some time, but after hearing what she said, it gave him a little confidence boost and helped him realize that he maybe could pass the test, so he knew he had a lot of thinking to do. He also knew that even if he did decide to take the test, he wouldn't ask her for help. He didn't want her thinking about anything besides her audition for NYADA.

...

Getting past the discussion of what happened at school, Rachel and Puck spent the rest of Friday and the whole weekend at her house, working on her audition. They still spent sometime as a couple, hanging out and talking, but their main focus was her song. Rachel didn't bring up his decision, because she didn't want to pressure him and Puck didn't want to stress her out before her audition on things he needed to deal with on his own.

...

Monday morning, when Rachel was driving to school, though her boyfriend's troubles were still on her mind, she was also thinking about everything that led up to her big audition that week and the metaphor for her being a star. "_Deep in space, there are giant interstellar clouds. Most of them just float through the universe content to be balls of gas and space dust, but there are special ones. Maybe they collide with a supernova or are just made up of something extra amazing, but one day they just get too big for the nebulous they're in and with the sheer gravitational force of their awesomeness, they become a star... I am that amazing cloud. My whole life has lead to this moment...__ My audition is this week and once I get into NYADA, I'll be one step closer to my dreams of Broadway and a Tony by the time I'm twenty-five. I'm so thankful to have Noah playing the piano, too. I know he has a lot of things going on and I hope he doesn't take too long to make a decision about school, but the support he's given me has definitely been helpful. Yes, I am confident I'll get in, but I also can't help having some doubts about my audition and Noah's encouragement has helped keep my worries at bay, allowing me to focus on impressing whoever the NYADA scout is. They're going to be the one who decides if I get in or not._"

Rachel's thoughts passed the time it took her to drive to McKinley and once she parked in the lot, she looked at herself in her rear-view mirror and smiled, her confidence building up even more than it had been, "you are a star, Rachel Berry. And in just two days from now you are going to shine so bright on that stage that the sun is gonna cry with envy. You know when your time is and it's now."

...

Though most of the teens in the Glee Club had passed off what had happened with Puck, Finn couldn't forget it. He knew from what Rachel had said on Friday that Puck would be helping her out with her audition over the weekend, so Finn went in search of Rachel between morning classes, in hopes she had some answers. Seeing her at her locker, he walked up and smiled at her, "hey Rachel."

"Good morning, Finn. How are you?" She asked simply, closing her locker and turning to face him.

"I'm alright," he shrugged, "so, I was wondering if you got a chance to talk to Puck about what happened on Friday."

Rachel took a deep breath and nodded, "yes, I did."

"Oh, okay. I usually see him in the mornings, but I haven't today, so I wanted to know what's going on. Is he really dropping out?" He asked concerned.

"I hope not," Rachel admitted, "his World Geography class has a test this week and because he missed so much school, he was hoping his teacher would allow him to take the test later, but she won't. I guess he hasn't done any work in his class and this is the final test. If he takes the test and gets a passing grade on it, she's willing to give that grade to him as his grade for the whole class, allowing him to graduate. He doesn't think he'll be able to pass it, so he thinks that he should just drop out and clean pools and do odd jobs around town to save up more money," she explained.

Finn's eyes widened, "damn it! I didn't realize he had that bad of a grade. So he's just gonna drop out and that's it?"

"No, he's thinking about it. I believe if he tries, he could get a passing grade, which I told him. Apparently he's never really had anyone believe in him before, so he doesn't have a lot of confidence when it comes to education and needs some time to figure out what he wants to do," she told him, seeing concern on Finn's face and realized he cared about him, "as much as I want to force him to come back to school, and I can tell you'd like to do the same thing, if we try to drag him back, he might shut down even more. I hate to say this, but he needs to make this decision on his own. He has to be the one to want to come back. We can't push him into anything."

"Yeah, I know," Finn sighed, "I just wish... There's gotta be something we can do."

Rachel knew they had to get to their classes, so they couldn't talk too long, but she knew what to say, "he needs some space, but he also needs people to believe in him. He needs his friends."

...

Rachel was glad Finn seemed to care enough about Puck to ask her about what happened. She hoped Finn and some of their other friends would also reach out to him, to show there were others that cared about him and wanted him to succeed. This could give him helpful push in deciding to return to school, to try to pass his test. She just wished it would happen soon because his test was in a few days and he had a lot of studying to do before then.

...

Because Kurt and Rachel had their auditions that week, Will gave the teens the week free from Glee. This allowed the two Seniors to focus on their preparations and the others would have a free period to do whatever they wanted. Kurt still had last minute decisions to make on his song choice and decorations for the stage, so Rachel let him use the auditorium, while she practiced in the choir room during their usual Glee time.

...

Finn had been doing a lot of thinking about what Rachel said that morning about Puck. He felt bad that Puck was that upset and wanted to drop out and was also mad that none of the other guys seemed to mention Puck at all that day. He contained himself until he got to gym, when all the guys from Glee, except Kurt, were working out in the weight room. Mike was getting advice from Blaine about using hair products, Sam and Artie were lifting weights and talking about one of their classes, Rory was at the bench press with Joe as his spotter, talking about a new movie, which is when Finn finally snapped, dropping his weights, "hey! I hear you guys talkin' a lot, but is anybody gonna mention what's missing? What's different here?" Finn asked, looking around at the others.

"You finally shook the last five pounds. Dude! Congrats!" Sam grinned.

All the other guys clapped and cheered, thinking that's what Finn was talking about, but he shook his head, "no... No... It's Puck!" Finn snapped, "he's not here... Anybody notice that?" When the others shrugged and shook their heads, he sighed, "he's thinking about dropping out of school."

"I'm going into full-blown prayer mode," Joe admitted honestly.

"I talked to Rachel this morning. She says he needs to pass his World Geography test this week or he doesn't graduate. He figures he won't be able to pass it, so he took off and now he's thinking about dropping out completely. She says he needs some space to figure things out, but honestly, we need to go all Black Hawk Down here. All he needs to pass is that one test. Either we all graduate together or what was the point of all this?" Finn motioned around, "no man gets left behind. We will get him to pass. By any means necessary."

"That's right!" Sam agreed, nodding at Finn, "we can do this!"

"While I totally agree we should help him, how are we going to get him to go along with it?" Artie asked curiously.

The guys all exchanged glances and then looked at Finn, "any ideas?" Sam wondered.

"Well, from what I gather, he's still helping Rachel with her audition and he's cleaning pools, so," Finn thought for a moment, "I know we all have plans today after school, but since gym is our last class of the day, this time tomorrow meet in the choir room. I'll figure out a plan to get him here to cram for his test. It'll also give me time to get his book and figure out what exactly he needs to study."

...

Rachel didn't say anything to Puck after school about her conversation with Finn. She figured if it was important to Finn to ask her about him, then he'd reach out to Puck on his own. The couple focused on her audition and both were looking forward to it being over. Puck knew the piano part by heart and Rachel had been familiar with the song for years, and had sung it before in Glee, so there wasn't much 'work' needed. She just wanted to keep going through it to make sure they didn't miss notes and she was on key.

Tuesday started out like usual, and like the day before, instead of the Glee students meeting in the choir room, Kurt and Rachel worked on their auditions and the others had a free period to do what they wanted. Rachel still went to the choir room to use the piano and spent the time practicing, wishing her boyfriend was there to help her. She knew the song, but preferred to only sing, letting him be the one on the keys, so she could focus on her voice. He still hadn't made a decision on returning to school and she hoped he would. She didn't want to spend the next month without him and it also meant he wouldn't be able to go to Nationals. With that thought, she realized she could use that as an incentive to come back, so he could at least have one more competition with everyone before some graduate.

Rachel's thoughts also were on her audition and she realized that in all the time she and Kurt had talked about them, they hadn't shared the songs they were doing. Wanting to find out what he was doing, she decided she'd catch up to him later that day to find out.

Leaving the choir room, she made her way to her locker and picked up things for her next class. As she walked away and rounded the corner, she noticed Kurt at his locker, so she walked up to him, "hey, Kurt."

"Hey, Rachel. What's up?" He wondered, smiling at her.

"Nothing much. I just realized that you've never told me what song you're singing for your audition," she admitted.

Kurt sighed, closing his locker and leaning against it, "I haven't decided yet."

"What?" Rachel gasped, "why not? It's tomorrow!"

Taking a deep breath he looked at her, "I know. I'm torn. I have been practicing Phantom for the last three months," he started, "well, 'Music of the Night' from 'Phantom of the Opera', but recently I've felt like my audition needs something more, so I'd really like to do 'Not The Boy Next Door' from 'The Boy From Oz."

Rachel's eyes widened, "you can not sing that for your NYADA audition."

"Yeah, but I need to be excited about this and when I came up with it, it was the first time I've been inspired this whole process."

"But it's too controversial," Rachel replied honestly.

Kurt rolled his eyes, "it was too controversial in 1962. The play and that song won Hugh Jackman a Tony."

"Trust me, I know," she nodded, contemplating his idea.

"Look, I just thought that since NYADA is a Broadway school it would make more sense. I know Phantom is also a Broadway show, but..."

"Kurt, can I be honest with you?" Rachel asked and when he shrugged and nodded, she continued, "you haven't practiced 'Not The Boy Next Door' enough to be ready. This is the biggest moment in our lives and we can not be taking risks."

"Isn't that the exact moment to take a risk?" Kurt asked slightly confused.

Rachel took a deep breath so she wouldn't freak out on him, but she also wanted to get her point across, "I'm singing 'Defying Gravity'. I've known it for years and we even competed for it our Sophomore year, remember? It's been one of the songs Noah and I have been working on for months, but since I picked it weeks ago as my song, during every lunch and almost every day after school and on the weekends we've been working on it. I think he'll be sick of the song by the time my audition is over, but my point is that it's not just something I picked off the internet and went with. I understand you want to sing it, but the day before your audition is not the time to change your mind."

Taking in what she said, Kurt nodded, "yeah, you're right. It is way too late to be changing my mind. 'Music of the Night' it is," he confirmed.

"Good," Rachel smiled at him, "I believe in you and I believe in that song, Kurt. You're going to be amazing!" She added, throwing her arms around him in a hug.

Kurt returned her hug and smiled, "thanks, Rachel."

...

Puck had been doing a lot of thinking about if he wanted to go back to school and 'tough it out' until the end of the year, or just give up. He didn't really like the idea of 'quitting', but even with Rachel's confidence boost, he still wasn't ready to believe he could do it. The test was in two days and he hadn't even opened a book about it, so he was definitely not ready to take it. A part of him thought if he skipped a few more days and came back to school after she'd given the test, she'd have to let him make it up, so it would buy him some more time to study, but even then, he didn't think it would help.

With all the time thinking about school, Puck also didn't have anything to do. He didn't want to sit around his house all day, and he definitely didn't want to study, so he decided since Rachel was in school, he'd kill some time by making the rounds at some of his pools to get an extra cleaning in, to make a little more money.

He stopped at the first house, not too far from his home and went right to the backyard and got to work. No one was home at the time, but as he finished up, and was gathering his things, Mrs. Moore came outside, surprised to see him there so early. He passed it off as he just had a free day from school and she bought it, happily paying him for his work.

Puck thanked her and headed over to the Collins' house a little after one-thirty, figuring he'd finish up there with just enough time to be at Rachel's by the time she got home.

When he arrived, he knew Mrs. Collins was home, because her car was in the driveway, so he gathered his things and headed for their backyard, expecting her to come outside soon. Within ten minutes of getting started, she came walking out, dressed in a very revealing bathing suit that just barely covered her, a sheer over shirt and a pair of heels.

"Noah, I didn't expect you to be here today," Mrs. Collins said honestly, walking towards him.

Puck did his best to avert his eyes, but he couldn't help glancing at her, "_damn it, Mrs. C., I have a girlfriend,_" he thought, "oh, I just had a free afternoon from school, so I thought I'd get an extra cleaning in. Hope that's okay," he told her.

"That sounds perfect," she grinned, "and maybe when you're done we could take a dip," she suggested, motioning to the pool.

"Uh, sorry Mrs. C., but I don't have a lot of time. I gotta be somewhere soon," he replied, not wanting to go into too many details.

"Oh, well, if you change your mind, I'll be inside," she winked at him and turned, sauntering back into the house.

"_I'm not looking, I'm not looking... I wonder what Rachel looks like in a bikini,_" he thought, smirking a little as he returned to skimming the water to get the leaves out.

...

Puck had only been at the house about twenty minutes and was currently testing the chemicals in the pool, when Mrs. Collins came back outside, "lookin' good, Noah," she smiled, dressed in the same thing she had on earlier, "hey, the kids are at the neighbors. You wanna go for a quickie in the pool house?" She asked, trying again to get a little something from him.

Shaking his head, "not this time, Mrs. Collins. I'm gonna keep it legit like I have been for the last few months. Gotta work to save up as much as I can."

The older woman sighed, "well, it was worth a try," she stepped over and handed him some cash, "I added in a little extra, too," she winked at him.

Puck saw double what he usually charged, "I can't take that much extra, Mrs. C. I appreciate it, but..."

"Just keep it," she assured him, "the view is definitely worth it," she grinned, looking him over and her eyes focused on his toned, muscular arms that were exposed from the black tank top he had on.

"Uh, thanks," he couldn't help a blush creep onto his cheeks as he pocketed the money.

"No problem. So why do you have to save up money all of a sudden?" She asked curiously.

"I'm moving soon," he replied, keeping it simple.

The older woman nodded in understanding, but sighed, "too bad," she looked him over once more, "I'll miss those abs," she added, before turning and walking back into the house to let him finish.

Puck smirked, but continued what he was doing and after seeing all the chemicals were where they needed to be, he went back to skimming out some leaves and other things that had falling into the pool while he'd been there and knew he'd be done soon.

A few more minutes passed and he was almost done, when he heard footsteps. He thought it was Mrs. Collins again, but as he turned to look at who was approaching, he thought he was seeing things. Taking off his sun glasses, to focus even more, he gasped, "dad?"

"Hey son," the older Puckerman said, "can we talk?" He asked hopeful.

The last thing Puck wanted to do is talk with the man who had abandoned him, his mom and sister years prior. He also knew he was in the backyard of a client's house and he definitely didn't want to make a big scene, so he shrugged, trying to keep his anger at bay as his dad motioned to two lawn chairs near by.

Moving towards them, Puck grabbed his over shirt and slipped his arms into it, letting it hang open as he sat down on the edge, nervously waiting to find out what his dad wanted.

"I brought us a little refresher. The last six-pack from my microbrewery 'Puckerman's Special Sauce'," he explained, popping the top on one bottle of beer and held it out to him.

Puck waved his hand, declining the bottle, "I'm good," he replied, knowing alcohol was the last thing he needed at the moment.

"Oh, come on. A dad likes to share a beer with his son. It'll be fine. I won't say anything," he continued to hold it out, but he could tell Puck wasn't gonna take it, so he sighed and took a swig of it himself, "alright..."

Knowing he didn't show up just to have a beer and 'talk', Puck knew his dad wanted something. His dad took a few more swigs of beer and they sat in silence for a long moment, but Puck was tired of waiting, "so, what are you doing here?" He asked simply.

With a sigh, his dad looked at him, "I hate to do this, but, uh, I'm kinda at the end of my rope. I need to borrow some money."

"From me? For what?" Puck asked in shock, surprised at the request.

"Rent," he admitted sadly, "hardest thing for a man to do is ask for help," he added, looking at Puck hopeful.

Puck's mouth fell open, completely stunned. His mind also began racing in a thousand different directions, including remembering that his dad never graduated from high school. From that, he had a brief flash of himself in eighteen years, begging Beth for money and he didn't want that to come true. This was the kick he needed to get back into school and as much as he wanted to tell his dad to 'fuck off' he also knew if he gave him the money, he'd never have to see him again, so he reluctantly gave in, "how much?"

...

Finn had spent the whole day coming up with a plan to snap some sense into Puck. At two, when the guys usually were in gym, he, Blaine, Sam, Artie, Joe, Mike and Rory all met in the choir room, so Finn could show them his plan, which he'd sorted out once he confirmed that Puck would be at Rachel's after school; he'd even drawn up a diagram to show them.

"Alright, everyone listen carefully," Finn called out, catching the other guys attention as he stood by the board he'd set up, "Puck's been going to Rachel's house after school and he usually gets there a little after three, so we're all going to head over to her house and then when he gets there, we're going to grab him and bring him back here," he explained simply, "Sam, you're the driver, so stay in the car."

"Can I play with the radio?" Sam wondered curiously.

Rolling his eyes at the question, he decided to just go on, "Rory, you're on look out here," he motioned to a spot on the poorly drawn diagram of the area around the Berry's house.

Rory nodded, "who am I looking around for? I mean, besides Puck?"

Again, moving on, Finn took a deep breath, "Blaine, Mike and myself will triangulate a very carefully planned attack on Puck here, here and here," he pointed to a few spots on the diagram, including where Blaine was going to be, behind a large bush, but it didn't look like one; it looked like a grizzly bear standing up on it's back feet.

"Is that a bear I'm hiding behind?" Blaine asked, motioning to the drawing.

"No. No, it's a bush," Finn assured him.

"It looks like a bear," Blaine commented honestly.

"It's not a bear, it's a bush," Finn said again.

Rory leaned over to Blaine, "maybe a shrub," he offered.

"What's the difference between a shrub and a bush?" Sam wondered, hearing the discussion about the picture.

Artie rolled his eyes and looked at Finn, "what do I do?" He asked, trying to stop the conversation about the 'bush'.

"Oh! It's the best part! You're going to be the bait, so when Puck gets to the Berry's, you just roll your wheelchair into the..." Finn paused and glanced up when he and the guys heard the door open.

Everyone was shocked that the person they were just talking about, was walking into the room, "you alright, dude?" Mike asked Puck, seeing him looking really upset.

"You look like you saw a ghost, man. What's up?" Finn asked concerned.

When Puck gave his dad the money he'd asked for, which he had in his truck, and then watched him drive off, Puck sat in his truck for a few moments gathering his thoughts. Some things clicked into place and even though he hadn't wanted to see his dad, he realized it was the reality check he needed to snap out of the funk he'd been in. Soon he was driving and wasn't sure where he was going, but he ended up at McKinley. He knew school wasn't out yet, so he figured he'd hang out in the choir room until the day was over and could catch up with Rachel; he needed to see her. When he walked into choir room, expecting it to be empty, he was surprised to find all the guys from Glee, except Kurt there. Seeing their friendly faces was a relief and when they asked him what was wrong, Puck moved towards the piano bench and took a seat, "I just saw my dad. I haven't seen him in five years," he started, continuing on to tell them about the short conversation he had with his dad and what he asked him for.

Finn's eyes widened, "what did you do?"

"I gave it to him. Five hundred bucks," he sighed, "it was a large chunk of money I'd saved up for my move."

"I don't get it. Why?" Artie wondered, surprised.

"The last thing I expected was for my dad to show up and ask me for money, but I did it because I knew if I gave it to him, I'd never have to see him again," he replied, scrubbing his face with his hands gently.

The guys were all silent for a long moment, not really knowing what to say, but felt bad that he'd given away a lot of his money.

"I've kept my money stashed in a box under the seat of my truck, so I was able to give it to him easily. After he thanked me and told me I was a good son, he got into this beat up, old truck, and drove off. I guess this was the wake up I needed. I just started driving and ended up here. You know he dropped out of high school, too? I thought about myself, sitting where he was sitting, across from Beth. No dignity, no future, begging her for rent money," he admitted, taking a deep breath and looking around at his friends, "I can't turn into my dad. I have to graduate and to do that, I have to pass this damn World Geography test," he paused, gathering his thoughts, "something my dad said also stuck with me and made sense."

"What's that?" Sam asked him.

"He said the 'hardest thing for a man to do is ask for help' and he's right. It's not easy, but I need to. I know there's no way I can pass this test on my own. I'd ask Rachel for help, but she's got her audition tomorrow and I want her to only focus on that, so please don't be offended that you guys weren't my first choice, but will you help me? Please?" Hated to ask, but he needed to.

All of the guys smiled at him, glad he'd made the decision, on his own, to ask for help. Finn turned to him, "no offense taken," he said honestly, "we'll help you out any way we can," he promised, holding up a fist to him.

Puck fist bumped him and smiled, "thanks, bro. Thanks guys," he smiled at everyone in the room.

"You're welcome. So how are we going to do this?" Blaine asked curiously.

"Well, I'm playing the piano for Rachel's audition, so tonight and tomorrow is gonna be taken up with that, but after her audition is over, I'll be free," Puck explained.

"So after it's over, we'll all meet in here and spend all night helping you cram for the test. We'll help you pass it," Finn replied.

...

When the school day ended, Rachel made her way towards her locker and as she turned the corner, she gasped, seeing Puck leaning against her locker, "Noah! What are you dong here?" She asked quickly, rushing to him to give him a hug.

Puck smirked and hugged her tightly, "it's a long story. Can we talk about it later?" He asked, relaxing more now that he was with her.

"Um, I suppose so. I'm glad to see you. I miss you at school," she admitted, looking up at him, "are you alright? You look a little pale. Are you sick?" She asked, reaching up to rest her hand on his forehead to see if he had a fever.

"No, I'm not sick," he promised, "I just... it's been a long day."

Rachel nodded in understanding, "want to go back to my place and talk?"

"Sure," he moved so she could get into her locker, "relaxing sounds good right about now."

"I think that can be arranged," she smiled, "but we also should put the last minute touches on my audition for tomorrow."

"That's cool. We can do that. I just mean I wanna kick back and relax with you. Been thinking about you a lot today. I've missed you, too," he said honestly.

Rachel smiled, her heart fluttering at his words. She could tell he was upset and needed to talk, so she quickly gathered her things and closed her locker, slipping her arm around his waist, "well, then I say we go back to my place and spend some quality time together and you can talk about whatever is on your mind," she suggested.

Puck draped his arm around her shoulders, not caring who saw. He was glad the guys were willing to help him with his test, but being with Rachel made him feel like things would be okay, "I think that sounds like a great idea."

...

Getting back to Rachel's, Puck kicked back on the couch in the living room and Rachel got them some bottles of water, before joining him. "Alright, what's up, sweetheart?" She asked, taking a seat on his lap, leaning her back against the arm of the couch.

Puck smiled a little at the pet name and took a deep breath, "I've been doing a lot of thinking about school, but I figured while I was off, I could clean a few pools. Went to the first and got done, so I had time to go to another. While I was there, my dad showed up."

Rachel gasped, "oh, Noah. What happened? What did he say? Are you okay?"

He shrugged, "I don't know how he found me and I guess I don't really care. He needed rent money. I gave it to him. I don't have much left to move to New York on, but at least I don't have to see him again," he murmured.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she hugged him tightly, "I'm so sorry, Noah. We'll figure something out, I know it."

"I hope so," he replied, accepting her hug and holding her close to him, "because I gotta get out of this town. There's more, too," he added.

"What else?" She wondered, pulling back a little to look at him.

"Well, I couldn't really say all of this to the guys, I'll tell you about them in a second, but while my dad was asking me for money, I realized that if I dropped out of school I'd be just like him in eighteen years, a divorced high school drop-out, with no future and begging Beth or my other kids for money. I don't want to turn into him and I really care about you, but you deserve better than that, so I'm not gonna drop out of school. I wanna be with you, but I don't want you dating some drop-out when you deserve a whole lot more," he told her.

Relief washed over Rachel, happy to hear he didn't want to drop out of school, but the last part of his statement caught her, "I'm so glad to hear that," she said honestly, smiling at him, then rested a hand on his cheek, "but please don't do it just because of me. I've already told you how I feel about that and though I get where you're coming from, you need to do this because you want to."

"I know, babe. I am doing this for me, but you and my dad are my inspirations for wanting to," he assured her, "I don't want to be like him and I don't want you dating some high school drop out, so even though you'd be willing to date me either way, I at least want to graduate. It's important," he admitted with smile.

"Well, then in that case, I'm really happy you decided to continue with school," she said happily, hugging him again and then pulling back to press a kiss to his lips.

Puck smiled into their kiss and as he pulled back he looked at her, "thanks for saying what you did last week, about believing I could do it. That helped me decide, too."

"You're welcome and it's true. I do believe you can do it, and I'm happy to help you out any way I can," she said, "I can help you study."

"Nah, I got that covered," he commented, "that's what I was getting at earlier about the guys. They were all in the choir room when I got to McKinley. I think they were actually trying to figure out a plan to get me to school. Anyway, something my dad said stuck with me and it was really hard, but I asked the guys to help me study. You were my first choice, so please don't be upset that I've asked them, but I don't want you thinking or worrying about anything except your audition. After school is out tomorrow, the guys are gonna spend the whole night helping me cram for my test on Thursday," he finished.

"I'm not mad at all," she assured him, "I appreciate your concern for my audition, but I'm sure it'll be over by lunch tomorrow. I can still help after school," she kissed him again, "unless you don't want me to ruin the guy time."

He shrugged, "I don't mind if you come. I'm sure they'll be fine with it, too," he told her, "the only problem might be Finn. What I meant earlier about not being able to tell the guys everything, was because I couldn't tell them the other reason I wanted to get back to school: to graduate so you weren't dating a drop-out. I didn't figure he'd be too happy with that, and I kinda worried he might have changed his mind about helping. Sorry."

"Don't be. I get it and we have agreed to keep our relationship quiet until after my audition, so if we are together tomorrow after school, then we could tell him. The sooner everyone knows, the better. I'm tired of keeping it a secret," she replied.

"Yeah, me too," he agreed, "pretty soon we won't have to hide. As soon as your audition is over, if you wanna tell him, we will."

Rachel smiled, "alright. Sounds good."

...

After spending the rest of the evening working on Rachel's audition, Puck went home, but the next morning, Wednesday, they changed things a little. Puck was gonna pick her up, but before he did that, he stopped and bought some flowers for her, and then headed over to her house. When he arrived, he took the flowers up to the front door and knocked lightly.

Since Rachel was expecting him, she didn't take long to answer they door, "morning, Noah!" She greeted, motioning inside. "I just have to grab my bag and we can go."

"Alright," Puck stepped into the house, "these are for you," he said, holding out the bouquet of brightly colored flowers.

"Oh, Noah, thank you, but you didn't have to do this," she smiled happily, taking them.

"Yeah, well, now you can't say I don't bring you flowers," he winked, hinting at the duet by Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond called 'You Don't Bring Me Flowers'.

Rachel laughed lightly, "very true. You know, we should sing that together sometime," she admitted, moving into the house, "I'll put these in some water before we go."

"That's why I brought them in," he commented, closing the door and following her into the kitchen, "figured you might not have anywhere to put them at school and we should sing that sometime. I got Neil Diamond down and you've got Barbra, so it's a perfect match."

Setting the flowers down on the counter, she then turned to face him, "are you trying to say that we're a perfect match?" She wondered curiously.

Puck moved to stand right in front of her, "I'd like to think we are," he grinned, reaching out to rest his hands on her hips.

"You're not the only one," she stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips, "and I'd like to continue this, but we've gotta get going soon."

"I know, but a few morning kisses don't hurt, do they?" He wondered, kissing her again, "especially since today makes five weeks."

Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close for a moment, "I'm glad you're also keeping track," she commented, smiling at him, "and are these for that or for my audition?"

"Both. Definitely for five weeks, but also to show I hope you do well today and all that," he replied, kissing her forehead, before letting her go so she could do what she needed.

Moving away from him to get a vase, she returned and started to take them out of the packaging to put them in the vase with water, "well they are appreciated for both and are beautiful. Thank you again."

Puck smiled as he watched her, "no problem. You deserve them, star."

Rachel blushed at the nickname her 'Secret Admirer' had started calling her, which was him all along, "I hope it shows today."

"It will," he assured her, "you've got this, babe."

...

Rachel and Puck headed to McKinley and after dropping off their things at their lockers, they made their way to the choir room, finding Kurt and Blaine. After greetings the four sat down and talked for a short while, but when it was almost time for classes to start, Blaine left, leaving the other three for the morning.

Kurt and Rachel had been excused from classes that day, so they could audition whenever the NYADA educator arrived and since Puck wasn't returning to 'school' until the next day for his test, he also stayed with them. The three hung out in the choir room until about nine, when Will stopped in to tell them the NYADA person would arrive in about an hour.

Making their way to the auditorium, Kurt passed on the news to his boyfriend, step-brother and a few others to let them know and soon he and Rachel were making their last minute preparations to their costumes. Rachel wore the outfit to school that she was going to audition in: a simple black dress and black shoes; she didn't want anything too fancy, while Kurt was going full out 'Phantom of the Opera', mask included.

"Have either of you decided who's going first?" Will asked, joining them backstage, "I can tell whoever this is you have decided when I meet them and show them to the auditorium."

Rachel and Kurt exchanged glances, "no, we haven't talked about it."

"Uh, can I go first? If I have to wait much longer I may panic and not be able to do this at all," Kurt commented honestly.

"That's totally understandable and I'm fine going second," Rachel replied.

"Okay, I'll let them know. I'll also text you when they arrive," Will said, excusing himself and going to the front of the school.

As he was leaving, Blaine and Finn showed up, both wishing the two good luck. At the same time, Rachel could hear talking in another section of the backstage area, but she thought it was the band setting up for Kurt's performance, so she didn't think much of it.

"I hope they hurry up because I don't know how much longer I can wait," Kurt murmured.

"It'll be fine. I'm sure they're close," Rachel commented, trying to help Kurt stay calm.

"Relax, Kurt, you're going to do amazing," Blaine assured him.

At that moment, Rachel's cell phone vibrated, and she glanced at it, seeing a text message from Will that they'd arrived, "they're here," she said softly, glancing at Kurt.

Kurt groaned, "I can't do this."

"Yes, you can," Rachel agreed, turning to the guys, "why don't you go find somewhere to sit and I'll meet you out there in a few minutes," she suggested.

Blaine gave Kurt a good luck kiss and then he, along with Finn and Puck took Rachel's suggestion and headed out into the auditorium. The two performers were left and though Rachel was calm, Kurt was still a mess, "is there anything I can do to help you relax?" Rachel wondered.

"I don't think so," he replied with a sigh, "I just want to get this over with."

Rachel moved to the curtains to peek out into the seats, to see if she could see who was there from NYADA and at that moment, an African-American woman walked in, followed by Will carrying her bag. Rachel immediately knew who she was and dashed back to Kurt, "oh my God," she gasped.

"What? What's wrong? Who is it?" Kurt asked quickly, when he saw her pale face.

Taking a deep breath, Rachel looked at him, "it's Carmen Tibideaux."

"What? Carmen Tibideaux? She's one of NYADA's most famous and infamous alums!" He gasped, rushing to the curtain to peek out, seeing her sitting down at the director's table, "she's played Broadway. She's performed the most demanding roles in the greatest opera houses in the world," he groaned, rubbing his stomach, "I think I'm gonna throw up."

Rachel sighed, her own nerves building and something her dads told her recently came to her mind, "my dads have been trolling the NYADA chat rooms and they said that she's been appointed Dean of Vocal Performance and Song Interpretation and now she's going across the country to pick out her own inaugural class."

"Rachel, you know the stories of her wrath as well as I do. Once, Tibideaux stopped a performance [...] at the Met, because someone glanced at their watch. [...] She destroyed him. Do you think she's gonna have any qualms about cutting us off if we displease her?" Kurt babbled.

Before Rachel could respond, Carmen called Kurt, so the two performers exchanged glances, and Rachel patted Kurt on the shoulder, "you're gonna be amazing. Alright? I believe in you." Rachel noticed Kurt's hesitation as he nodded, so she gave him a gentle nudge towards the stage, "go get 'em," she added, before dashing to a side door to get to the seats where the guys were watching from and sat down next to Puck as Kurt was walking out on the stage. "_You can do this, Kurt,_" Rachel thought, glancing at Puck before turning her attention back to Kurt.

...

Kurt started out introducing himself and the song he was about to song, but he hesitated, mentioning he thought it was a common audition song. Carmen agreed she had heard it several times, so at the last minute, Kurt changed his mind, wanting to do something more 'him' and said he'd be doing 'Not The Boy Next Door' from 'The Boy From Oz'.

The older woman's face remained neutral as Kurt called out someone from the side stage and Tina, Brittany and Mercedes walked out, dressed in their gold dresses from their first Regionals competition years prior. Rachel realized the voices she'd heard were the three girls and she was shocked that Kurt was willing to change his song at such a late time, but it was too late to change again.

The music started and Kurt quickly pulled his cape, pants and jacket off, revealing a black button up shirt and a pair of gold pants, matching the girls dresses. It wasn't long before Kurt was dancing around on stage to the upbeat song, and the girls were even following some of his steps to add another level to the performance.

Though everyone was shocked at the quick change, when Kurt finished, Will, Blaine, Finn, Puck and Rachel all stood up and started clapping, but quickly stopped and retook their seats, waiting for Carmen to say something. During his performance, she'd remained neutral while she wrote notes on the paper in front of her and then looked up at him, "you know Hugh Jackman won a Tony award for playing Peter Allen?" Carmen started, and saw Kurt nod while he stood on the stage, "he trained with me the summer I was in residence at the Sydney Opera House and I'm certain that he would have been," she paused for a moment, "as impressed with what you did with that song, as I am. A bold choice, young man. I congratulate you for taking such a risk today."

Kurt gasped, "thank you!" He exclaimed, turning around and waving at the girls in thanks as he made his way to the curtains, bowing lightly before going backstage.

...

Hearing Carmen compliment Kurt about taking a risk, Rachel firstly felt bad she'd tried to talk him out of that song, but she also briefly worried that her 'safe' song choice would not make her stand out to Carmen as much as she hoped it would. Knowing there was nothing she could do, because she didn't have another song picked out, she pushed the feelings aside and glanced at Puck. The two silently got up and headed backstage, knowing she wouldn't have too long until she'd be called to go on.

Once backstage, Rachel took a seat at the small mirror and began fixing her hair and touching up her make-up and lip gloss. After a moment, she took a deep breath, "millions of moments have led up to this moment. All you have to do is just be yourself, because you're a star," she said, staring at herself in the mirror.

Puck had given Rachel a bit of space, but at her words, he walked up behind her and gently rested his hands on her shoulders, "you definitely are," he agreed. Rachel smiled and stood up, turning around and gave him a quick hug and as they pulled away, he smiled at her, "you nervous?" He asked simply.

Rachel took a deep breath, all the thoughts and feelings she'd had earlier were gone or being ignored and she shook her head, "oddly enough, not at all. No, I'm ready," she replied, "I was briefly, but right now, I'm not. I'm calm," she added. "Are you?"

"A little," he shrugged, "it's not every day I'll play piano for a professional actress while my girlfriend auditions for her, but I'm good."

Carmen took that moment to call for Rachel, so with one last smile to each other, the couple made their way onto the stage and Puck walked right over to the piano and took a seat. He had a clear view of Rachel, standing in the center of the stage and he nodded that he was ready, so she turned her attention to Carmen, "hi, I'm Rachel Berry and I'll be singing 'Defying Gravity' from one of my favorite musicals, 'Wicked'."

On his cue, Puck began to play the introduction to the song and Rachel picked up at the right moment, "_something has changed within me. Something is not the same. I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game. It's time to close my eyes and leap..._" Rachel gasped as she realized what she'd done and felt her cheeks redden in embarrassment.

Puck's eyes widened and stopped playing when he realized she messed up the words and glanced out to see Will, Kurt, Blaine and Finn, all with their mouths hanging open in shock.

"I'm so sorry!" Rachel gasped, "I'm so so so sorry. Please, let me start over one more time. I'm sorry," she took a deep breath and glanced at Puck, nodding for him to start over.

Eyeing her curiously, Puck knew it wasn't the time to start asking her questions, so he nodded back and started playing the song again.

Rachel gathered her composure and started singing again, "_something has changed within me, it's time to close my eyes..._" Her hand flew to her mouth as she gasped again, this time tears coming to her eyes in frustration. She couldn't believe she'd just choked twice on a song she'd been practicing for months and knew for so long. "I'm so sorry. I know this song backwards. Okay, please just let me do it one more time. I can start it over one more time," Rachel said honestly.

"No," Carmen said simply from the director's table, beginning to gather up her papers.

"Excuse me?" Rachel asked, stepping forward a little to hear her better.

"You get eight bars. I gave you sixteen," Carmen told her truthfully, "do you know what happens when you forget the words on Broadway? They give the job to your understudy. I'm very sorry, but this audition is over."

"No, please, please!" Rachel begged, tears falling from her eyes as she watched Carmen stand up and begin to leave, "you have to believe me! You just... please, you have to give me one more chance, please?" She continued, watching the woman disappear through the exit.

Realizing she was not going to get another shot, Rachel began sobbing, "oh God! I've ruined everything!" She choked out.

Puck jumped up and rushed over to her, wrapping his arms around her tightly, "I've got you," he murmured, unsure what to say.

Rachel clung to him, burying her head in his chest as she sobbed, totally confused and frustrated that she'd just ruined her only shot to get into a NYADA. "Everything was perfect and I just... I lost the words... I... I don't know what happened," she murmured.

"I don't know either," he agreed, rubbing her back gently, noticing Will, Finn, Blaine and Kurt coming up on the stage. He could see Finn's eyes on them and Puck realized the upset expression wasn't from the audition; he'd figured out their relationship status. "I'm gonna take Rachel home," he said honestly.

"I think that's a good idea," Will agreed.

"But what about studying?" Blaine asked.

Puck glanced to Finn and saw his neutral expression, "I'll be back by four. If I change my mind, I'll let you know," Puck replied, not caring about school at the moment.

The four guys reluctantly left, leaving Puck to help Rachel out, and he gently guided her backstage. "Rachel, let's get your stuff so we can get you home," he said softly.

Rachel pulled back a little and motioned to the small make-up bag and her phone sitting by the mirror, "that's all that's mine. The rest is in my locker," she murmured, reaching out and grabbing a few tissues to wipe her eyes with.

...

Puck hated seeing her like that; an emotional wreck and he was totally confused about what happened, too. He knew talking about it was probably the worst thing, so he grabbed her things and silently guided her out of the auditorium, before heading to her locker. Getting her backpack and purse, he led them out to his truck and she clung to him, as if he was the only thing keeping her from collapsing on the ground.

The entire ride to the Berry's house was silent, except for the sniffles and sobs that hit her every few moments and Puck didn't try to talk to her. He just kept his hand on her shoulder or back, gently rubbing it to remind her he was there.

Arriving at her house, the two walked inside and her dads were now up, which they hadn't been that morning when he'd picked her up. Both men were in the kitchen and heard them come in, so they got up and came to see how things went, but Rachel didn't want to talk about it. She stormed up to her room and slammed the door, the sound echoing through the house.

Puck was left to tell her dads what happened and both men were shocked and saddened to hear she'd choked. The three headed up to her room to try to talk to her, but she didn't want to talk about it. She just wanted to cry, so Puck kicked off his shoes and laid back on her bed, letting her curl up and cry why he held her. He didn't know what else to do and figured at least she'd know he was there.

...

Surprisingly, Puck and Rachel fell asleep for several hours and it was almost four when Puck woke up, "ah shit," he groaned, seeing her clock.

Rachel gasped and sat up quickly, "what? What's wrong?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.

"I told the guys I'd be back at school at four," he motioned to the clock, which read '3:49pm'.

"Oh, yeah. They were gonna help you study," she said softly, "you should get going, then."

"You sure? You need me more than I need to study," he admitted, looking at her.

"And I appreciate that, but studying is just as important, Noah. You need to go. I'll be fine. I've got my dads here and," she glanced around her room, "maybe being a Broadway star just wasn't meant to be," she sighed.

"Don't talk like that, babe," Puck told her, "you _are_ going to be a star. It was one mistake and so what if one person didn't like you? I told you NYADA wasn't the only school for you and I bet there are hundreds of teachers looking for someone with your talent, Rachel. You'll make it; it just might not be with NYADA."

Rachel smiled, "thank you and thanks for being there for me today. It means a lot."

"No problem," he pressed a kiss to her lips, "you gonna be okay?"

"Not anytime soon, but I will be. I appreciate you being here, but you don't need to sit around all night watching me cry and blow my nose," she admitted, lightly cracking a smile.

"Alright. If you need me, don't hesitate to call," he kissed her once more, and hugged her, before sliding off her bed to get his shoes on.

"I won't. Good luck," she smiled lightly and waved as she watched him walk to her door.

As soon as he was gone, and she heard his truck start up, she felt her tears returning. All of the posters of musicals in her room, the playbills and other decorations geared towards her dreams of Broadway seemed to be taunting her, and she couldn't stand being in there any more, so she grabbed her phone and a blanket and headed downstairs to curl up on the couch.

...

Puck hated leaving Rachel, but he knew she was right. She was emotional right now and probably needed some space to herself anyway, so he reluctantly gave in and headed back to McKinley. Parking in the almost empty lot, because school had gotten out an hour prior, he headed to his locker, got his bag and a few things and then went to the choir room, finding Finn, Mike, Blaine, Kurt, Joe, Rory, Artie and Sam all there.

The room looked like his World Geography textbook had thrown up; continent maps hanging up around the room, a huge beach ball of the globe sat on the floor, more maps were stacked on a chair with note cards, flashcards and worksheets piled with more textbooks on the piano.

Seeing everything in there and knowing it and the guys being there was all to help him study meant a lot to him. It made him feel like there were other people that cared about him besides his girlfriend. "Wow, thanks guys. You're really into helping me."

"Of course we are, man. We want you to graduate on time," Mike replied.

Puck glanced at Finn, surprised to see him there, but before he could say anything, Kurt rushed over to him, "how's Rachel? She hasn't answered any of my texts."

"That's because she cried herself to sleep. She's... As good as can be expected, I guess," he shrugged, "she's definitely confused and upset. Probably devastated, too. I don't think she really wants to talk about it. Just give her some space," Puck explained, his eyes going to Finn's, "can we talk, man?"

"Uh, yeah," Finn nodded, getting up.

Puck dropped his backpack on the piano and then the two went out in the hallway and closed the door, so the other guys couldn't hear them. "I saw you looking at me and Rachel earlier."

"How long have you guys been dating?" Finn asked, knowing what Puck was getting at.

"Today makes five weeks," Puck replied honestly, expecting to have a black-eye by the time their conversation was over.

"Five weeks?" Finn's eyed widened, "and you're just now saying something?"

"Look, Rachel and I agreed we'd wait until after her audition to say anything. I didn't want her stressing out over what you or anyone else thought about it," Puck said firmly, "and she agreed, so if you're gonna be pissed at anyone, take it out on me. She doesn't need to deal with any added drama right now."

Finn contemplated what Puck said and nodded, "I get it," he agreed, "and um, it does upset me, but I had a feeling you guys were together."

"Really?" Puck asked in surprise, but then realized they hadn't been completely secret at times, they did sit together in Glee and he knew Finn found out about them spending time together outside of school.

"Yeah," Finn replied, "when Rachel told me that you guys were hanging out, I kinda thought there was more going on and I was preparing to find out. Rachel and I are over, but I do still love her. I know I screwed up things with her and we'll never be a couple again. It sucks, but it's true and it's hard to see her with anyone else," he sighed, not wanting to get into it too much, "but on the other hand, I do want to see her happy and if she's happy with you, then I'm happy for her. I'm not a huge fan of this, by a long shot, but I'll deal, okay?" He told him, holding out his hand.

Puck was hesitant to believe Finn was that calm about things, but he also didn't want to dwell on it if Finn was trying to pass it off, so he shook his hand, "alright. I'm glad. She seems happy, well, with us, obviously she's not about what happened today, but it's just a bump in the road to Broadway for her."

Finn nodded at his statement, "yeah, and I'm sure she wants you to pass this test, too, so let's help you do that," he patted him on the shoulder.

As much as Puck hated studying, he did want to pass the test, so he sighed, "alright, let's do this."

...

The guys agreed to work through the night, if they had to, to make sure Puck was ready for his test. Finn had talked to Mrs. Doosenberry and found out the test focused on Europe, so they were all putting their attention on that. It also helped to have Rory there, since he was from Ireland and was more familiar with some of the European countries.

An hour turned into two and the guys all chipped in for pizzas and Blaine and Kurt went out to get them. Once they got back everyone kicked back for a short break, but Puck wanted longer, already feeling like his head was going to explode from everything they were trying to cram into his brain. They didn't stop for too long, getting back to work, but they had only scratched the surface of what Puck needed to study.

"Alright guys, I need a break," Puck admitted, glancing at his phone to see it was already nine at night.

"Come on, man, if we keep taking breaks you'll never get this down," Blaine commented honestly.

Puck had a feeling the guys would fight him on it, so he decided to go a different direction, "I want to call and check on my girlfriend, since she had a rough day, before it gets too late and would be rude to call," he admitted.

"Girlfriend? You have a girlfriend? Since when? Who is it?" Sam asked in shock.

"Yes, I have a girlfriend. Have had for five weeks, but we kept it quiet because we wanted to wait until after her audition to tell everyone," Puck explained, figuring they'd quickly figure out who it was.

"You're dating Rachel?" Artie wondered, putting together what Puck said.

"I am," he confirmed.

"Wow! Congratulations," Sam smiled at him, while the others said something similar, "I didn't know, but I did notice you guys had been hanging out a lot."

Puck nodded, "yeah we have been. We love spending time with each other," he said truthfully, "so if you guys don't mind, I'm gonna see how she's doing," he finished, grabbing his phone from where it was sitting on the piano.

When no one complained, Puck got up and moved out of the classroom and down from the door a few feet to a large window that looked out to the parking lot and took a seat on the small ledge. Pulling up Rachel's number, he hit send and hoped he didn't wake her up. After the third ring, he was about to hang up when she answered, "hey babe."

"Oh, hey, Noah! Sorry, I didn't expect you to call. It startled me," Rachel admitted.

"Sorry about that. I figured it'd be easier to call than text right now," he told her, "how are you dong?"

"I'm alright, I guess. Watching TV right now. Not really in the mood to do anything else," she replied, "how are things going there?"

Puck groaned, "my head hurts."

Rachel laughed lightly, "that's a good thing. It means you're picking up what you're learning."

"Yeah, but I don't want to learn it," he sighed, wanting to change the subject, "um, there's something I need to tell you."

"Oh yeah? What is it?" Rachel wondered.

"When we were hugging on the stage today, Finn saw us and I realized that he figured us out, so when I got here, I confirmed it," he said softly, "I know we should have been together to do that, but part of me felt like it was better coming from me, you know? Bro to bro," he admitted.

Rachel was silent for a long moment, "yeah, you're right. It probably was better that it came from you. How did he take it?"

"He seems to be okay with it. He's not a huge fan, but he'll deal because he wants you happy. He also said he had a feeling we were together, once he found out we were hanging out more," Puck told her, "and just before I walked out of the room to come call you, I told the guys. They congratulated us, so I hope you're okay that I told them."

"Of course it is," Rachel nodded, "I'm glad they're okay with it and that Finn seems to be accepting, or at least will deal with it. The last time I had a boyfriend after we'd split up, he got into a fight with him at prom last year and both him and Jesse got kicked out."

"I know. I remember," Puck agreed.

"Anyway, enough about them," she commented honestly, "I'm focused on you and our future together."

"Yeah, in New York. I don't care how it happens, babe, but we're going to New York and you're gonna be a star," Puck said firmly.

Rachel smiled at his words, "thank you, Noah. I... I really appreciate that you're so supportive, but maybe it's time that I just reevaluate my dreams and try to find some that are a little more down to Earth."

"No, Rachel, don't do that. You've only hit a rough patch. I'm sure you're not the only person out there who's ever had problems at an audition. We'll figure this out, okay?"

Taking a deep breath, Rachel sighed lightly, "okay, but I'm not as confident as you are anymore. It's gonna take me some time to deal with this, so if I'm not my usual positive self for a while, don't get upset."

"Fair enough. You need space. Trust me, I totally understand," he replied, "and I'll definitely give it to you, just like you did for me."

"Thank you, Noah. That means a lot," she replied happily, "and there is one thing I'm positive of," she paused, "us."

"Yeah, I am, too," Puck smiled, "and you're welcome. That's what friends and boyfriends are for," he added, returning the sentiment she'd said to him before.

...

Finishing up their conversation and saying 'goodnight', Puck returned to the choir room and passed on how Rachel was doing, before the guys got back into studying. The hours began to pass by and Puck was growing more frustrated and tired of cramming things into his brain. They were all getting a little worn out, but they pushed on.

Puck knew some of the countries in Eastern and Central Europe, from his Jewish history; the countries where the Nazis had concentration camps and he also knew where some of the bigger European countries were like Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

They'd finally worked their way to the western region of Europe and Rory started doing most of the 'teaching'. He began pointing out countries on the map and asking him what it was and what the capital was. Puck had only been getting a few right; like Pairs being the capital of France and Berlin as Germany's capital, but the rest he was blanking on. He knew it could be because he was exhausted and felt like his brain was going to explode from being on overload all night; he'd never studied that much in his life.

"Here's an easy one," Rory said, pointing to Dublin, Ireland, "what's the biggest city in Ireland?"

"Balarneycock," Puck replied, from where his head was resting on the piano.

"Dude! He's pointing right at it. Come on," Sam groaned, from a few feet away.

"My brain is fried!" Puck snapped, glancing at clock to see what time it was, "it's frickin' three in the morning!"

"That's awesome! We've still got six hours to cram before your test!" Artie said energetically, as if he'd been drinking coffee all night.

All of the guys groaned loudly. They were all in various states of exhaustion and some of them had even fallen asleep for a few quick minutes, but Artie had been the one to keep them on their toes.

"Okay, so let's hop on back to sunny Spain," Finn said, standing up and reading in the text book he had in his hand, "hey look, here's a fun fact: Spain is considered a mostly mountainous country, [...] with picturesque plateaus and arid valleys."

Joe turned to Puck, "see, fascinating."

"No, it's not!" Puck snapped in frustration as he sat up a little, "who the hell cares? Not even Einstein uses this crap!"

"So wipe it from your memory, after your test," Blaine suggested.

"Now, for the bonus round... Which region of Spain receives the most rainfall?" Finn asked, glancing in the book.

"I don't know!" Puck groaned, rubbing his head.

Finn sighed, "just think about it, dude... The rain in Spain falls mainly..."

"Whatever... In the flatlands?" Puck offered, "the plains?"

"What was that?" Finn asked, pointing at him happily.

"The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plains," Puck replied, looking around.

"This sounds like a song from a movie," Artie commented.

Puck glanced at Artie and nodded, "yeah... That's where I've heard it! Rachel had me watch it... Something with 'Lady' in it..."

"My Fair Lady!" Kurt grinned.

All the guys exchanged glances and before too long, Finn was at the drums, Puck, Sam and Joe were all rocking on guitars, while Rory, Mike, Kurt, Blaine and Artie all joked around, singing 'The Rain In Spain', a song from the movie 'My Fair Lady'. The lyrics were mostly 'the rain in Spain falls mainly in the plains', and Puck sang most of those lines, as a way to help him remember that important detail.

The impromptu jam session was the wake up all the guys needed to help them push through the rest of the early morning, and when the song was over, Artie grinned, "okay! Movin' on! What rhymes with 'pre-industrial European deforestation'? Anybody?"

Puck groaned, shaking his head and thinking, "_it's gonna be a long few hours._"

...

After another three and a half hours of cramming, the guys agreed to call it quits a little after seven. School would start at eight and Puck's test was at nine, so he didn't want them to miss their first class of the day for another hour of studying. Puck thanked them for all the help and the nine guys cleaned up the mess in the choir room, before heading to the locker room to change their shirts, since they didn't have time to go home.

When Puck changed his shirt, he pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced at it, seeing a text message from Rachel, "_Noah, I won't be at school. Not ready to be there. Good luck on your test! I believe in you! Let me know how it goes! Miss you!_"

Reading her message, Puck smiled, appreciating the words and also understanding why she decided not to come to school that day. Hitting the reply button, he typed in, "_thanks babe. Means a lot. I'll come over after school. I also understand why you're not here. Take all the time you need. Miss you, too!_" Sending his response, he left the locker room and headed for his first class, nerves building for his test in less than two hours.

...

Getting to his class at nine, his teacher handed out their tests and he immediately stared at the white paper and black letters and sighed, "_I can't do this,_" he thought, his pen going to the side of the paper and began sketching a guy, rocking out on a guitar. After about ten minutes, he glanced up and saw Finn, Mike, Rory and Sam peaking into the small window of the door. Seeing them made him smile and gave him a little confidence boost, glad to see they were trying to support him.

"Eyes on your paper, Puckerman," Mrs. Doosenberry commented, noticing his attention was somewhere else.

Puck sighed and turned back to the paper, "_focus, you can do this. Okay... 'What area of the Spanish countryside receives the highest annual rainfall?' Holy crap! I know that one!_" Puck thought, grinning as he remembered the song and wrote 'in the plains' into the blank space. "_Question two... 'Name three countries in England where violent storms rarely occur.' This is the easiest test ever!_" He thought, writing 'Hartford, Hereford, Hampshire' in for the answer, because that was in the song he and the guys had played, "_Puckgellan is on a roll._"

...

Question after question, Puck put in his responses. Some came easily, because he'd learned them the night before and were fresh in his mind, but most of them he was still confused, so he guessed. He figured putting in something gave him a chance of getting it right. When the bell rang, he'd just finished the last question and smiled confidently. He felt like he knew enough of the answers to have gotten a passing grade, so he stood up and walked the test up to his teachers desk, placing it on the corner with the rest of them.

Walking out of the class, he was met by all of the guys and Mike was the first one to ask him, "how do you think you did?"

"My best," Puck replied honestly.

"Did you pass?" Blaine wondered.

"Does your head hurt? 'Cause sometimes after I take a test and my head hurts, it's usually a good sign," Sam admitted.

Puck took a deep breath and nodded, "you know, it's weird, but I think I did; thanks to you guys," he told them, seeing all of the guys smiling, "so thank you, all of you," he smiled back and wanted to tell them something he'd through of during their cram session, "you know, it's hard growing up without a dad, 'cause you don't have any dude roll models, except NFL players and video game characters, but I lucked out. Instead of one dad, I've got a whole gang of them," he looked around, "you guys showed me what it means to be a man. Not just last night, but for the last four years."

"Let's hug it out!" Sam said, stepping forward a little.

The other guys crowded closer together, sharing a quick group hug and Puck relaxed. He meant what he'd said, too. For the past few years, he'd grown up a lot, learning bits and pieces from the guys in Glee. Most of it was what not to do, but they'd all had their moments of positive influence on him and he was glad to have known all of them.

...

Without Glee that day, the guys went and hung out in the cafeteria for their free period, talking and resting through lunch, because none of them had slept that night. Puck was also not used to having much free time, because for the past few months, all of his extra time had been spent with Rachel, working on her audition and now that it was over, he didn't know what they'd do, but for the moment he was glad to hang out with his friends.

After lunch and a few more classes, school ended and Puck headed out. He stopped and bought two large slushies and was glad they had grape that day. Once he left there, he went over to Rachel's house and with the cups in his hands, he tapped on the door with his foot.

Rachel opened the door moments later, "Noah, hey!" She smiled, moving aside to let him in.

Puck could tell she'd been crying, because her eyes were red, "hey, babe," he walked into the house and leaned in, pressing a kiss to her lips, "I brought us refreshments."

"I see that," she replied, closing the door, "sorry I'm not very dressed up," she motioned to her yoga pants and baggy sweater, "but I was just not in the mood to be too dressed up."

"It's okay," he assured her, "I'm totally cool with just kicking back and relaxing. You look amazing, by the way, so no worries."

Rachel blushed and took one of the cups from him, "thank you, for the compliment, for understanding and for this," she motioned to the slushy.

"No problem," he moved into the living room and took a seat on the couch, kicking his tennis shoes off.

"So, how was your test?" She asked, taking a seat next to him and pulling one leg up so she could turn to face him.

"It was okay," he nodded, "I think I did, well, I hope I answered enough to get a passing grade. Some of the questions I learned, but others I was confused on. I remembered someone once telling me that I should always put an answer down, even if I'm not sure, because I could get it right, so for the ones I wasn't totally sure on, I put something I thought it might be and hopefully I got a few right," he explained.

"Yes, that is a very good idea. Sometimes teachers will see that you made an attempt and give you partial credit if it's not completely right," she agreed. "I'm hopeful you passed."

Puck bit his lip and sighed, "but what if I don't? No offense, but we were both confident for your audition and look what happened," he said softly.

Rachel nodded, "yeah, I get what you mean and no offense taken. I had thought the same thing, but it's two different things, so hopefully this time we'll be right to be confident," she paused, "as for what to do if you don't pass, well, it's only one class, so they can't make you come back next year for one class. That's what summer school is for. I don't know exactly how it works, but we can figure it out, okay?"

"Okay," he smiled, reaching out and taking her hand, "and we'll figure this audition thing out, too," he assured her.

Even though Rachel was skeptical that there was anything she could to do fix what happened or to get a second chance, she appreciated that he was willing to be there for her, so she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips, "thank you."

...

Rachel was surprised at how quickly things had changed. At the beginning of the week, she was full of confidence and looking forward to her audition and now, on Friday, she was the totally opposite. She was nervous and scared about her future and was still trying to figure out what happened to cause her to choke during her audition.

She really appreciated that her boyfriend was there for her, and he was helping keep her confidence up, but she was still skeptical. She was wondering if her Broadway dreams would ever pan out like she wanted them to, and realized while her main focus had been on performing arts, she also was an excellent student and any college or university would probably be happy to accept her, because of her high grade point average and all the clubs she'd been involved in over the years. She definitely had other educational options, but aside from staring in musicals on Broadway, she'd never sat back and thought about anything else she'd like to do, and now she was faced with the tough reality that Broadway might not be an option and she may need to figure out another path in life.

...

At the end of his second class, Mrs. Doosenberry returned the tests from the day before and when Puck got his, he glanced at the large red letter on the page and nodded. The bell rang, echoing all over the school, so he got up and with the test in his hand, began walking through the halls, surprising himself when he ended up in the auditorium. He needed to think, so he found a seat in a darker area and kicked back, figuring since Glee was next and the teens weren't meeting that week, his girlfriend would be in there soon, anyway.

...

Getting through her first two classes of the day, Rachel seemed to relax a little, now that she had something else to think about besides the bad stuff in her life and once she was at her locker, dropping her things off, she noticed Kurt walk up to her. "Hey Kurt," she said softly.

"Hey," he reached out and rested a hand on her back and rubbed it gently, "how are you doing?"

Rachel shrugged, "I'm dealing, but it's not easy. Can we talk about something besides our auditions? How has your week been? What have the girls been doing? I haven't talked to any of them all week."

Nodding in understanding, he smiled lightly, "my week's been okay. I guess the girls got into a bit of trouble with Coach Washington and Sue," he admitted, "Brittany, Tina, Mercedes, Sugar and Santana were all standing together and someone made a rude comment when they saw Coach Beiste had a black eye. I guess Sue, Washington and Beiste talked to the girls and told them that joking about domestic violence was not okay. I totally agree; it's not something to even joke about," he explained.

"Definitely," Rachel nodded, "was it from domestic abuse or was it something else?"

"At first, Coach Beiste was saying it was something that happened at the gym, but after the girls sang 'Cell Block Tango' to the three coaches the other day, Tina said Coach Beiste admitted that her husband hit her," Kurt told her sadly.

Rachel gasped, "oh no! That's terrible! She's gotta get out of that relationship," she said honestly, "my dads have a friend who was in an abusive relationship and after years she finally got out, but I hope Coach Beiste doesn't let it continue."

Kurt nodded in agreement, "yeah, I hope she gets out, too. The girls are going to sing her another song, 'Shake It Out', to apologize for joking about it."

"Good for them," Rachel nodded, "if I had been with the girls when that happened, I'd be doing more than just singing a song. She needs help. Granted, just like with Noah, he needed to make the decision to ask for help on his own, so if she's not willing to accept it, it'd be hard to help her, but hopefully she wakes up soon. She doesn't deserve that."

"I totally understand what you mean and you're right. She needs to want the help before it will work and all that," he replied, biting his lip. He really wanted to respect Rachel's request to not talk about their auditions, but he needed to say what was on his mind, "can I just say, for the record, that Carmen Tibideaux is a total bitch? She should have let you start over," he blurted out, "sorry, but I've needed to say that."

Rachel nodded at him and sighed, "she did."

"I mean a second time. You killed the beginning of that song. I wouldn't be surprised if you got accepted from that," Kurt said honestly.

"Kurt, I really appreciate what you're trying to do, but we both know what happened, alright? I had my chance and I choked. I choked on a song that I've known for years and now it's over and there's no one to blame, but me," she bit her lip and took a deep breath, "you were amazing, though. You were... You went with your gut and you were better than you've ever been. You're gonna be great in New York."

"Well, you're coming, too. Of course you're coming, and so is Puck. Just because NYADA didn't work out, doesn't mean you can't still move there and try out for another school," he said honestly.

Rachel felt the tears building up in her eyes again, "can we not talk about this anymore? I feel like I've been crying for two days and I just..."

Immediately feeling bad, Kurt stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her in a friendly hug, "I love you, Rachel Berry, and I'm here if you need anything. I mean it."

Begging her tears not to fall, Rachel smiled weakly at his comment and as they pulled back, she nodded, "I love you, too, Kurt, and thanks. I'll let you know."

Kurt nodded and smiled, rubbing her shoulder gently, before turning and walking down the hallway.

Rachel watched him walk off and she closed her locker and began walking the opposite way down the hall, tears beginning to fall as she started to whisper the words to Kelly Clarkson's song 'Cry'. "_If anyone asks, I'll tell them we both just moved on. When people all stare I'll pretend that I don't hear them talk. Whenever I see you, I'll swallow my pride and bite my tongue. Pretend I'm okay with it all, act like there's nothing wrong._"

By the time she finished the first verse, tears were still falling and she was walking into the auditorium. She went right up to the stage and continued on with the chorus, "_is it over yet? Can I open my eyes? Is this as hard as it gets? Is this what it feels like to really cry? Cry..._"

Puck was already in the auditorium when Rachel came in and it startled him, hearing the words she was singing. He could tell she was extremely upset, with tears leaving wet streaks on her cheeks as they fell to the floor, and as much as he wanted to walk up there and hold her, he knew she needed to express her feelings and music always seemed to be her way to do that.

Sobbing even more, Rachel managed to continue, "_I'm talking in circles. I'm lying, they know it. Why won't this just all go away?_" She grabbed her chest and took a deep breath, feeling her legs shaking and worried that she was going to fall to the floor.

As he realized what the song was, and he meaning soaked in, Puck realized that Rachel was about to collapse, so he jumped up and rushed towards the stage. He quickly climbed the stairs and when he reached her, he pulled her into his arms and she sunk against him, clinging to him so she couldn't stay standing. His own emotions spilled over, tears finally slipping from his eyes as she sobbed against his chest.

Rachel wasn't sure when Puck had gotten into the auditorium, but she was glad he was there. She definitely felt herself calming down with him holding her and at the moment, he was keeping her on her feet. "Thanks," she coked out, lifting her head a little to look at him.

Puck smiled lightly at her, "no problem, babe. You looked like you needed the support; physically and mentally," he admitted honestly, reaching up to gently wipe her eyes. "I'm guessing the song has nothing to do with us breaking up, right?" He asked, hating to bring it up, but he'd heard the song before and it seemed more like a break up song than anything else.

"We're not breaking up," she confirmed, "it's more because of the crying part. Talking about wishing the pain would go away and being tired of always talking about what happened and just wanting to ignore it so I can move on."

"Good, I'm glad we're not and I had a feeling it was because of that, but I couldn't help asking. Sorry," he murmured, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

At that moment, Rachel noticed his own tears and her eyes widened, "Noah, what's wrong?"

"Got my test back," he replied softly, reaching in his back pocket to pull out the folded papers he'd put there so he didn't have to look at it anymore. Gathering his thoughts, he unfolded it and reluctantly showed it to her, "guess this just isn't our week," he said sadly.

"Oh Noah," Rachel choked out another sob as she saw the bright red 'F' shining back at her, "I'm so sorry."

"It's not the first test I've failed before, so I'm used to it. It just sucks, because it's the first time I've actually tried to pass," he sighed, "I did my best, but I guess I'm just meant to be a failure."

"Don't talk like that," Rachel pushed aside her own problems to focus on him and reached up, gently resting her hands on his cheeks, "you're a good person, Noah. You're not a failure," she said firmly, "you've just had some bad luck and hit a low spot. I know we've said this a lot already, but you'll get through this; we'll figure it out together. I'll help you out however I can and maybe we can talk your teacher into letting you retake the test. I'm not going to let you give up, Noah. You're going to graduate. I believe in you."

Puck smiled and slid his arms around her again, "thank you," he murmured as more tears fell. "I love you, Rach," he said, and at her gasp, he realized that what he was thinking, actually came out of his mouth.

"Noah?" Rachel pulled back to look at him, studying his expression, "do you mean that?"

Though Puck hadn't planned to tell her that for a while, he did feel it, "I didn't mean to say it right now, but I do feel that way."

Tears filled Rachel's eyes again and she hugged him tightly, her shoulders shaking lightly as she cried.

Immediately worrying that he'd just screwed things up, he rubbed her back and gathered his thoughts, "I don't expect you to say it back, if you don't feel the same way, babe. I..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Rachel stood up and pressed a kiss to his lips, one of her hands slipping around to rest on the back of his neck, and let her fingers brush through his mohawk, "I love you, too," she told him honestly, locking eyes with him, "I've almost said it a few times, but I was worried I'd freak you out. I definitely didn't want to scare you away."

"If anyone else would have said that to me, it probably would have, but _you_ could never scare me away," he assured her, his entire body relaxing once he found out she felt the same way.

"Good to know," she took a deep breath, "and this definitely makes our crappy week seem a little better. I know it can't fix everything, but given that we share the same feelings, I'm hopeful that we're past all the bad stuff and together we can work on picking up the pieces."

"I really hope we can, too," he nodded in agreement, "and I like that; picking up the pieces together, I mean."

"Good," Rachel leaned up and kissed him again, "because you're stuck with me."

Puck smirked at that comment, "I definitely don't feel 'stuck'. I'm happily dating you, babe," he promised, "and I'm not going anywhere."

...

Disclaimer4: Don't own the rights to the music used. Just borrowing for this work of fiction.

- 'Cry' by Kelly Clarkson, as song in this episode by Lea Michele.

- Defying Gravity... From 'Wicked' sung by Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel. This song, as you may remember was a 'duet' between Rachel and Kurt in episode '1x09 - Wheels'. The duet was released on Glee's first album, which we saw in the show, but iTunes also released two other versions. A Lea solo and a Chris solo... I know Rachel's 'choke' storyline came from Lea's own fear of forgetting the words to 'Don't Rain On My Parade', something she mentioned while on tour in the summer of 2011... What upset me, and I know a bunch of other fans were also pissed about, was they had Rachel sing DROMP out of the blue in '1x13 - Sectionals', a song she'd been working on since she was a child and only had a short time to prepare. She nailed it then, yet for her audition, she forgets the words. I get that they were going off of Lea's fear of choking while singing that song, but given the past with Rachel, I wanted to go with a different song. I love Defying Gravity, so this is no way because I dislike it, I just couldn't stomach using DROMP as the 'choke' song, like Glee did.

...

A/N4: Hope you all enjoyed. I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written. I knew it would be long; just didn't expect it to be 36 pages! Please, please review if you can. I really need the feedback, everyone. I'm not getting a lot and it's hard to know how you all feel, without it. To those of you who have reviewed, thank you so much and I will get to them as soon as I can!

A/N5: I hope you guys are alright with how I incorporated the Coach Beiste storyline into this. I really felt bad she was going through that, but since it didn't involve Puck or Rachel, I wasn't sure how to bring it up, until Rachel and Kurt had their conversation at the end.

A/N6: Still going through some testing for my abdomen, but the specialist I saw also thinks it's gallbladder. I just have to do the tests to confirm it before I can go see a surgeon. Thank you all for your kind words and support!

...


	7. Part 7: '3x19' '7a & 7b on LJ'

Title: Breakaway, Part 7/?

**Spoilers:** This part to '3x19 - Prom-A-Saurus'; whole series will be through the Glee season 3 finale.

Disclaimer1: I don't own Glee, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N1: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

Disclaimer2: Title from one of my favorite Kelly Clarkson songs 'Breakaway'. Just borrowing. I don't own!

...

Disclaimer3: Any familiar lines from the episode listed have been underlined... Just borrowing them! I don't own!

A/N3: Just a little warning. Becky's storyline will be absent from this fic. I love Becky and have _nothing_ against her, but her storyline in this episode didn't fit with my plan for Puckleberry, so I made the choice to not include it into this fic. Yes, Puck was involved with her storyline and he was such a wonderful guy to her, but I've changed things around and I hope you enjoy what I do have for you. Just please don't send me hate for removing her.

...

Finding out that Puck failed his test, made their bad week even worse, but even with their personal struggles, the couple managed to share their feelings with each other. Both were shocked that the three meaningful words had been exchanged at such a low moment, but they knew they'd be there for each other, to help bounce back from such a upsetting week.

Puck was used to failing tests, so even though he was still upset, he pushed his feelings aside to be there for his girlfriend. He knew she was trying to stay 'strong' around everyone or at least hide her emotions, but when they were alone, she let her guard down and showed him just how devastated she was. She felt like all of her dreams of Broadway and being a star had crumbled to the ground and she had lost her confidence, no matter what he, her dads or anyone else said about it being just a 'bump in the road'. She logically knew that, but in her heart, she was having a hard time believing she'd have a second chance.

Rachel felt horrible about her boyfriend's test, but every time she tried to talk to him about it, he shrugged it off. She wasn't sure if it was because he didn't want to talk about it, didn't care, or he just had other things he wanted to focus on, so she didn't press him too much. She was pretty worn down from her failed audition and wasn't sure how much support she'd be for him, but she at least wanted him to know she cared and that she really appreciated him being there for her.

...

The couple spent the weekend hanging out at her house, watching movies, talking and focusing on anything, besides his test and her audition. Returning to school Monday, everything was back to 'normal', but Rachel was quiet and by then, all the Glee members knew what happened. A few passed on their sympathies and Rachel appreciated it, but didn't want to keep talking about it, so they moved on, continuing to discuss Nationals.

Puck and Rachel's relationship had also been confirmed to everyone, too. The guys had found out the week previous, but the girls hadn't heard until that day. Some, like Quinn, had a suspicion and others were shocked, but the girls were all happy for them, and so were the guys, which made the couple relieved and happy they had their friends' support.

After school, Puck and Rachel returned to her house to hang out like they had all weekend, relaxing on the Berry's couch and watching movies. They had dinner with her dads and then returned to the living room to curl up to watch a little TV. She was leaning against him and his arm was draped around her shoulders, and in that time, a thought came to his mind, so he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "babe, can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Rachel nodded, lifting her head from his chest to look at him.

"Um, did you notice the posters for prom today? It's Saturday. Would you like to go together? I know you've been kind of down, so I totally understand if you'd rather not, but I wanted to ask you," he said looking at her.

Rachel stared at him for a moment, having totally forgotten about prom that weekend, "I haven't even thought about it," she admitted, but smiled, "Noah, I'd love to go with you."

"Really? Awesome!" Puck smiled, kissing her gently, "I wasn't sure if you'd be up for it."

"I get what you mean," she nodded, "I'm still upset, but I'm getting better. I also know that this is the last time we'll be with everyone, before Nationals and graduation, which is just a few weeks away."

"I know," he replied softly.

Noticing his quick change, she realized what happened, "I'm so sorry, Noah," she reached up and rested a hand on his cheek, "I didn't mean to bring that up again."

"It's okay. I get it. Graduation is coming up. It just sucks that I won't be able to graduate with you. There's no way my teacher will let me retake the test," he sighed, sinking into the couch a little more, "I just gotta realize that I'm a failure. Then figure out how I can manage to get through summer school to pass, so I can at least get my diploma, because I'm not repeating my Senior year, just for one stupid class."

"I'll help you, Noah and I really wish you'd stop calling yourself a failure. You just had some bad luck," she told him honestly. "You'll get through your class, I promise."

"Thanks, babe, but just like it's hard for you to believe that this audition isn't the end of the road for your Broadway dreams, it's not easy for me to see myself succeeding in school," he murmured, "and I guess I just need some more time," he shrugged.

Completely understanding what he was getting at, Rachel nodded and leaned up, pressing a kiss to his lips, "I get it," she assured him, "time, we have. But now, we can focus on prom. What are we going to wear? I need to go get a dress this week, maybe tomorrow," she commented.

He nodded, "I figure I'll just wear black jeans and a dress shirt and tie. Maybe my leather jacket or if you'd rather me wear a dress jacket, I think I have one."

Rachel grinned, "your leather jacket, definitely."

"Really? You like me in it?" He wiggled his eyebrows a little and watched as a her cheeks began to flush, "you do! Leather jacket it is!"

"You look amazing," she admitted, not trying to hide her feelings as she crawled onto his lap and kissed him, "it's definitely a turn on."

A groan escaped Puck's lips and he was surprised she was getting that close, but happily welcomed her by resting his hands on her hips, "damn babe, if I knew that was enough to get you turned on, I'd wear it more often."

Rachel leaned in, pressing a kiss to his cheek right by his ear and whispered, "and maybe after prom we could go someplace a little more private."

Puck's eyes widened, "do you mean what I think you mean?" He murmured, not wanting to get his hopes up.

"Yeah," she nodded, her blush continuing as she bit her lip, "I want to be with you, Noah, in every way. If you're... I," she sighed, realizing it was the first time they'd really talked about 'when' they'd do that and she wasn't sure if he want to.

"Hey," he reached up and rested a hand gently on her cheek and turned her head so she'd look at him, "relax," he murmured, feeling how tense she'd gotten, "I want to be with you, too. If you're ready, I am, too, I'm just surprised, that's all."

"I want our prom night to be special. I have always wanted that night to be our first _together_, but I just hadn't realized it was Saturday," she admitted, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"That's understandable and I'm all for it, but I want you to be ready. I know this won't be your first time, but..."

Rachel pressed her lips to his, silencing him for a moment, "I'm ready, Noah," she assured him, then bit her lip, "and I kinda wish this was my first time," she added softly.

"I honestly always thought it'd be me," he admitted, "but we can't think about that. What we can do, is make our first time together the most memorable for us. I know I'm not gonna think about anything else except enjoying our time together and making sure you're comfortable."

"Thank you," she smiled, hugging him, "that really means a lot and I know I'll enjoy our time together. I trust you and feel safe with you, Noah."

"No thanks needed, babe," he assured her, "and I'm glad you feel that way. I hope that never changes."

"I'm pretty sure it won't," she replied, kissing him, "we're going to prom," she smiled, "promise me you won't get into any fights that will get you kicked out."

Remembering what had happened the year before, Puck nodded, "I promise I won't get kicked out."

"Good! Now, I just need to figure out what dress I want to get," she commented.

Puck smiled, "I'm sure you'll be gorgeous in whatever you pick out."

...

After Puck left Rachel's house that night, she was glad to have something else on her mind besides her failed audition and her boyfriend's failed test. Unfortunately, her audition returned to the front of her thoughts as soon as she walked into her room and was faced with all of the Broadway memorabilia; posters and various decorations from her favorite musicals. Even though logically she knew someday she could have another chance at stardom, at the moment, her heart ached and the reminders made it worse. "_These need to come down,_" she thought, moving to the nearest poster and began to take out the small tacks that held it in place, "_it hurts too much to look at all of this stuff,_" she added, tears coming to her eyes as the poster began to expose her colored walls. "_Maybe one day I'll be able to look at these, but right now, I need some space. I need to do a lot of thinking and I can't keep reminding myself of my Broadway dreams. I can't keep dwelling on or being upset about what happened. It's over and done with and I need to move on. It's time to focus on some more realistic dreams, like winning Nationals, graduation and helping Noah get his diploma. Then after, I can figure out what I'm gonna do next. NYADA isn't the only school in New York and I've already found a promising one, but it's too late to get in for the Fall, so dad, daddy, Noah and I will need to talk about what to do. Until then,_" she paused, taking a deep breath as she began rolling up the few posters she'd already taken down, "_I need to focus on what I have that's important to me. I'm healthy, I have two amazing dads, many wonderful friends and a loving and caring boyfriend... Everything else will work out... Somehow..._"

...

Getting to school Tuesday morning, Rachel found herself spending one of her breaks between classes in the library looking at a few magazines with prom dresses in them. She wasn't sure what to get, but knew where to go, so after an uneventful day at school, she went home, long enough to drop her things off and meet up with her boyfriend and the two headed toward the Lima mall.

"Babe, I don't know why you want me to come along on this trip," Puck admitted as he drove them through town, "isn't a prom dress supposed to be a surprise?" He wondered, "or is that just a wedding dress?"

Rachel shrugged, "I'm not sure. I'm not familiar with prom etiquette. And I wanted you to join me, because while I trust Kurt's fashion opinion, he can go a little over the top at times, and I want you to like what I wear," she replied with a smile.

Puck smiled at her as he parked in an empty spot in the mall's lot, "I'm sure I'll love whatever you wear, but I get what you mean and I'm glad to be here," he assured her.

"Great!" She leaned over and kissed him gently, before turning and opening the door to get out, "then come on! We've got lots of stores to check out!"

...

Puck and Rachel spent several hours moving into various shops in the mall, looking through their dress selection. Rachel wasn't sure what color or style she wanted, so she tried on several dresses and by six, she still hadn't chosen one.

Feeling a little defeated, Rachel and Puck took a break for dinner in the food court, before moving on to the next department store. There they had a large selection of colors and designs and she moved through them, looking for dresses in her size.

Dress after dress she tried on the one's she'd picked out and on the sixth one, she stepped out of the dressing room and smiled, "what do you think?" She asked her boyfriend, who was sitting on a chair nearby.

Puck smiled, looking over her dressed in the pastel pink strapless gown, fitting her form down to her knees, where it flared out to give it some movement, "babe, you look amazing. I think that's a winner," he admitted honestly.

"Really?" She turned to look at herself in the mirror a few feet away, twisting around to look at it at other angles, "I do love the color and it fits perfectly."

"Yeah it does," he agreed, standing up and moving to stand behind her, "you're gonna be the prettiest girl at prom."

Rachel couldn't help the blush grow on her cheeks at his compliment and turned to face him, "thank you, Noah," she stood up on her tip toes and pressed a kiss to his lips, "this is definitely the dress. I'm going to change and we can go find shoes; then I'll be all set."

"Sounds good to me," he nodded.

"Thank for coming with me today. I'm sure this is not your idea of a 'date' or even fun, but I'm really glad you're here," she told him.

"It's definitely not my scene, but I had fun. I love spending time with you and you're gorgeous, so seeing you in all those dresses today was worth it."

...

Rachel managed to find comfortable heels at the same store, and once her shoes and dress were paid for, the couple left the store and headed back to her house. Since it was getting late, Puck walked Rachel to her door and they promised to see each other the next day at school and ended the evening together with a hug and kiss.

Getting to school Wednesday morning, Rachel was happy and definitely looking forward to the weekend. She still had her audition on her mind, but it seemed to be taking a backseat to her ideas for prom and couldn't wait to tell her boyfriend what she'd already planned. During the class before Glee, the Prom King and Prom Queen nominees were announced by Coach Sylvester and Rachel was definitely not surprised that Quinn and Santana had been nominated for queen. She was happy for them, but was pretty shocked to hear that Brittany had been nominated for king, along with Rick 'The Stick' Nelson and Finn. She understood Rick, and even Finn, being that he was the quarterback of the football team, but she wasn't quite sure how Brittany managed to get nominated for king.

Passing off her curiosity, Rachel returned her focus to her and her boyfriend's prom plans and couldn't wait to talk to him after class. As she walked to her locker, she found her boyfriend just arriving at it when she did, "hey, Noah! Just the person I was thinking about."

"Oh really?" He grinned, slipping his arms around her, "just _what_ were you thinking about?" He wondered, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"After prom," she replied with a smile, returning his hug, before opening her locker to put her things away, so she didn't have to take them to Glee.

Remembering what they'd discussed a few days prior, he nodded, "okay. Are you having second thoughts or you still ready?" He asked, not wanting to push her into anything.

"I'm still ready," she assured him as she closed her locker, "and my dads are going to rent us a hotel room."

"What?" Puck gasped, not expecting her to say that. "They're... really?"

"Really," she nodded, slipping her arms around his waist, "I told them what I wanted us to do and they were surprised, but understood that it's not necessarily something we want to do while they're in the house, so they offered. They trust you and know it's my idea and you're not forcing me into anything," she explained, turning a little to guide them towards the choir room.

Puck wrapped his arm around her shoulders and smiled, "wow, that's um... That's awesome. I didn't expect it, but I'm glad they trust me and I hope I never lose their trust."

"I'm pretty sure you won't," she commented. "So, you're okay with the room?" She asked, wanting to make sure she wasn't assuming anything.

"Definitely," he nodded, smiling at her, "as long as you're okay with it," he added, pausing outside the choir room.

Standing up on her tip toes, she pressed a kiss to his lips, "I'm very okay with it," she promised, guiding him into the choir room.

Letting their conversation settle, Rachel and Puck greeted their friends already in class and soon took seats next to each other, waiting for the rest of the Glee members to arrive.

It wasn't long before everyone was there and Will was walking in from his office with Brittany right behind him, "hey everyone! A big congrats to all of our prom nominees!" He started, clapping for everyone in the choir room who'd been nominated for king or queen and the others joined in to congratulate them again, "but hey, listen up... We are all winners, because Principal Figgins asked New Directions to sing again this year!" He said happily.

"Fantastic," Puck groaned, definitely not looking forward to that.

Rachel leaned into him and took his hand, rubbing his arm gently. She didn't really want to sing again either, so she completely shared his feelings.

"Alright," Will caught everyone's attention, and then turned to Brittany standing next to him, "Brittany has an announcement," he added, stepping aside so she could talk to them.

Brittany, the Senior Class president, stepped up and smiled at everyone, "hello, my fellow Americans. The theme for this year's prom will be," she paused, making a drum roll sound with her hand on the binder she was holding, "dinosaurs!"

Groans of disgust echoed through the room as the other members of New Directions reacted to the news. No one liked the idea, except Santana who thought it was 'sheer genius'.

"I was inspired by the new girl, Joe, who reminds me of a cave woman," Brittany continued, still not understanding that Joe was a guy with dreads in his hair, "the refreshments will be berries, meat and rain water. As you are no doubt aware, the US elections are riddled with corruption. Therefore, to keep the prom election completely fair, I've appointed Santana and Quinn to count ballots."

"What? That makes no sense!" Kurt exclaimed, "they both are nominated for queen!"

"Shut it, Richard Simmons!" Santana snapped, "yes, Quinn's my homegirl, but I don't trust her and we know she doesn't trust me."

"We'll keep each other honest," Quinn promised.

"And last, but not least, all hair gel has been banned from prom," Brittany commented.

Blaine laughed, "right!"

"I'm actually not joking. Hair gel was not invented til almost 30 million years after the upper paleolithic stone-age and frankly I don't like the way you look. Therefore, anyone who shows up to prom wearing hair gel will be turned away at the door," Brittany replied, "I hereby decree this to be the best prom ever!"

...

Aside from Santana and Brittany, no one was looking forward to prom. No one wanted to talk about songs and when everyone left the choir room and returned to their classes, Rachel stayed quiet about her feelings until she and her boyfriend met up during lunch and headed for the auditorium for some privacy, "I can't believe our prom theme is Dinosaurs!" Rachel huffed, plopping down on the piano bench.

"Neither can I. That's the theme of a kid's birthday party. It's not for a high school prom," Puck replied, taking a seat next to her.

Rachel sighed, leaning into him, "I don't even know if I want to bother going now. It's not like we have a reason to. I refuse to sing this year and by your reaction in Glee, I'm assuming you won't either, so what's the point? I'd rather spend my night alone with you."

Puck wrapped one of his arms around her and rubbed her back gently, "me too, babe," he agreed, "if you don't want to go now, then we won't. We can do whatever you want."

"That's what I'm having a problem with. I want to go, but why? It's not like I'd ever be voted queen," she murmured.

"Are you upset you weren't nominated?" He wondered, having a feeling she felt that way.

She shrugged, "kind of. Logically, I know the school would never vote for me, so I didn't expect it, but everything might suck a little less if had been nominated," she replied softly.

"I voted for you, and so did Kurt and Blaine," he told her honestly, "and you're already _my hot little Jewish-American Princess_, so being queen is the next step. I think you deserve it."

"You do? You guys all voted for me? Thank you," she smiled brightly, shifting to wrap her arms around him, hugging him tightly, "that really means a lot, Noah. I remember last year when you called me that... I'm really your princess?" She wondered, looking at him.

"Yeah, babe, you are," he nodded, "always have been. I definitely think it's time for you to be my queen," he winked.

Pressing a kiss to his lips, she pulled back and continued to smile, "I wanted you to be my king, so I voted for you, too, but I will settle for you being my knight in black leather."

Puck grinned at her comment and shifted on the stool a little, "I'm your knight?"

"Yeah," she nodded happily, "you helped me when I needed it the most and have been there for me, Noah. I'd say 'knight in shining armor', but black leather sounds more badass."

"It definitely does," he agreed, kissing her again, "thanks for feeling that way, babe, and I'm happy to be here for you. I definitely won't turn my back on you."

"Thank you," she snuggled against him, "and I'll always be here for you, too."

"I know," he nodded, holding her close, very thankful to have her in his life. As they sat together, a thought came to him, "if you don't want to go to prom, we could still get the hotel room. We could hang out and make it our own special night."

"That's a great idea!" She grinned, "we could order room service, watch a few movies, have our own prom, but better."

"Sounds like a plan to me," he nodded, "but I'm willing to do what you want, so if you wanna change your mind, just tell me, okay?"

Rachel nodded, already excited about their night, "alright, but I don't think I'll change my mind," she admitted, "happy six weeks, Noah."

Puck smiled at her, "happy six weeks, babe."

...

News traveled fast within McKinley and by the end of school, Rachel and Puck were not the only Seniors disliking the prom theme. Many of them were also thinking about skipping prom and Rachel and Puck discussed inviting a few of their close friends from Glee to their hotel room for a mini-prom, if they didn't want to go.

Keeping the idea to themselves for the time being, the couple spent their time after school at her house, just being together and not worrying about anything school related for a while. After dinner Rachel had a few emotional moments from the stresses she'd faced because of her audition and Puck was there for them all. He hated seeing her like that and knew the prom nominations didn't help her emotions, either. He could tell, even if she wouldn't directly admit it, that she was jealous that Quinn and Santana had been nominated, and he wished she could be crowned queen.

Rachel and Puck managed to relax a bit, even if she had been emotional for a short time, and soon their evening came to an end. When Puck left for the night, he promised he was only a phone call away if she needed to talk, and they parted with a long kiss 'goodnight'.

Appreciating and accepting her boyfriend's support, Rachel was able to get a decent night's sleep and woke feeling partially refreshed. Her mind still drifted to their plans for their own prom night and continued to think about them during her morning classes before Glee. Unfortunately, her positive outlook dwindled as soon as she and her boyfriend walked into Glee. The girls and some of the guys were talking talking about prom; everything from songs to sing, to what they were wearing, the decorations, the theme, and most of them were all curious who would end up being crowned king and queen.

The last thing Rachel wanted was to sit and listen to the girls go on and on about prom and the nominees, so she avoided joining the discussion. Instead, she, Puck, Kurt and Blaine had a conversation about song ideas for Nationals. During their talk, Kurt couldn't help noticing Rachel's mood. He knew something was up, but he couldn't tell why exactly, until someone said the word 'queen' a little louder and Rachel's attention went right to who said it. Once she returned her focus to the conversation she'd been involved in, he could see the look in her eyes and knew she was upset about prom. He didn't blame her; he and Blaine were not looking forward to it either, and he wanted to talk to her about what she was thinking about, but he knew the middle of the choir room wasn't the place to do that, so he decided to catch up with her later in the day.

As Glee came to an end, everyone filed out and Puck and Rachel walked to her locker. The two agreed to meet during lunch in the auditorium and then parted ways for a short time. As Rachel walked to her next class, the lyrics to 'Big Girls Don't Cry' by Fergie came to her. It didn't exactly relate to her situation, but it could be seen as a metaphor for her feelings. She was trying to be strong and not cry over everything that had gone on. She was successful most of the time, but there were still those times when she'd let her guard down around her boyfriend, letting him see just how upset she was.

With the lyrics fresh in her mind, Rachel decided that during lunch she'd sing it. She hadn't done any singing since her failed audition the week prior and she missed it. Music had always been a positive experience for her and she didn't want to let her audition ruin that and knew if she waited to sing much longer, it'd be harder to get her voice back in shape for Nationals. Rachel also knew that her boyfriend would be familiar with it, because they'd tested it out as an option for her audition a few months prior.

...

"Thank you, Noah. I know a lot of the songs I ask you to play are not ones you usually listen to, but..."

Puck cut Rachel's comment off with a kiss, "don't worry about it, babe. I'm totally cool with it. I do like this song, too," he assured her as they took seats on stools in the middle of the stage during lunch, an acoustic guitar resting on his lap, "only wish you would have told me sooner, so I could have brought my guitar to school," he added.

"Sorry. If I would have thought about it sooner, I would have, but it only came to me after Glee," she said honestly, smiling at him, "but thanks for being okay with this."

He nodded and adjusted the guitar strap as he put it on and strummed the strings a few times, "and this is a good thing, so I'm happy to help out. I haven't wanted to push you into singing until you were ready, so I'm definitely not going to say 'no'."

"Thanks," she said again, taking a deep breath, "you remember it?"

"Yep," he strummed the first few notes, "so whenever you're ready."

Taking a moment to relax, she nodded at him and he began to strum them song from memory. He definitely liked the song, and after she explained why she wanted to sing it, he was happy to play it for her.

Rachel sang the familiar words and did her best to stay calm. She didn't want to start crying or get mad and quickly realized how much she missed singing. It'd only been a week, but it seemed much longer and the song was perfect for how she felt at that moment. She also loved that her boyfriend was playing along and joined her for the chorus.

What the couple didn't expect was to hear two more voices with them, and both looked up to see Kurt and Blaine walking onto the stage, Kurt moving a stool towards Rachel and taking a seat on it, while Blaine grabbed an empty chair and sat on it backwards next to Puck, the four of them all singing the chorus and smiling to each other.

The guys let Rachel sing the next verse, and when she sang "_fairy tales don't always have a happy ending, do they?_" She looked at her boyfriend, having mixed feelings. Even though she was upset about her audition, she felt like, in a way, she was living in a fairy tale and he was her handsome prince; she was after all, his princess.

Puck and Blaine sang the line, "_yes, you can hold my hand if you want to,_" and then Blaine stopped and Puck added, "_cause I wanna hold yours, too. We'll be playmates and lovers and share our secret world._"

Rachel returned his smile and mouthed 'love you' to him before they all started singing the chorus again, ending the song.

For a moment, the four sat in silence, before Blaine broke the ice, "rehearsing for prom? Because I love that song, but it's sort of a downer, don't you think?"

"It's not for prom," Rachel shook her head, "it's just how I'm feeling right now. With my audition and trying to put on a brave face for everyone and," she bit her lip, "prom... Hearing everyone talk about it, knowing I'd never be crowned queen and thinking the theme sucks," she said honestly.

"I thought that's why your attention was drawn to the girls when they started talking about being queen. We voted for you," Kurt admitted, motioning around to the guys.

"Noah mentioned you all did. Thank you," Rachel smiled, "but it still doesn't make me want to go," she added, not wanting to tell them right at that moment that she and Puck were not attending.

"She's right. Prom sucks. I don't want to go," Kurt said, looking at Puck and Blaine.

"You have to go. You're the reining Prom Queen. You have to crown the next one," Blaine replied.

"As much as I love a good coronation, I can't risk it. With this school's strong and insane tradition of write-in ballots, I could get elected Prom Queen again. And I know I put on a brave face last year, but it was _humiliating_ and had I known, I would have worn a full kilt," Kurt sighed.

"Well, how do you think I feel with Brittany's insane ban on hair gel? It's prom. There's gonna be balloons all over the place, not to mention the taffeta and silk blends. The sheer amount of static electricity in that room is gonna be terrifying," Blaine commented seriously.

Puck, Rachel and Kurt all were trying hard to contain their laughter, "it's crazy!" Kurt smirked, looking at his boyfriend.

"You've never seen my hair without gel. It's baby-hair fine. I'm gonna look like Medusa!" Blaine huffed, sighing when all three of them burst out laughing, "it's not funny! I don't wanna go, either," he mumbled.

"Well, Noah and I don't have to worry about any of that, because we've decided we're not going," Rachel admitted, getting up and moving to her boyfriend, draping an arm around his shoulders, "we'd rather spend the evening together."

"Buy it's our last prom together!" Kurt gasped in shock.

"So what?" Puck replied, "it's not the last day of school. We've still got plenty of time to hang out."

"That's true," Blaine agreed, "you guys aren't going and Kurt and I are complaining about not wanting to go, so why are we?" He asked, looking at his boyfriend, "if you want to go, we can, but no one says we have to."

Kurt listened to what they said and nodded, "yeah, I get what you're saying. We don't have to go. I'd rather not go."

"Rachel's dads are renting a hotel for us; it was supposed to be just for after prom, but since we're not going, we're just gonna hang out. You guys can join us," Puck commented, looking at Rachel who smiled and nodded in agreement.

Blaine and Kurt exchanged glances, "I'm in," Kurt nodded, "what should we wear?"

"Considering we probably already have what we were going to wear to prom, we still can dress up, you know? Like we're going, but then we don't," Rachel admitted.

"I mean, I did get a tux for it, so at least it wouldn't go to waste," Blaine nodded, "I'm in."

Rachel grinned, "great! We're gonna have so much fun!" She promised. "I'm going to invite the rest of the club tomorrow. I don't know if anyone else would want to join us, but at least we can still offer."

...

Rachel was glad that she and her boyfriend were not the only ones who didn't want to go to prom. The four of them all agreed the theme was lame and decided to call their night an 'Anti-Prom', to go along with their plan to still wear their formal clothes they'd gotten to wear for the dance.

"Thank you for inviting Blaine and Kurt," Rachel commented to her boyfriend, later on once they were back at her house after school, "I was going to, but I wasn't sure if you'd be alright with that. I know we'd discussed it, but I didn't think anyone would be against going like we were, so I figured it'd just be us."

"It's okay. I kinda figured that's why you hadn't brought it up yet. They're cool to hang out with, as long as we make sure we get some _alone_ time," he wiggled his eyebrows at her, "you know, to use the hotel room for what it was gonna be for in the first place."

"We definitely will," she promised, sliding into his lap, "I'm sure they'll figure out just what we're going to do, so they won't stay too late and then we can have our own special _prom_."

Puck smiled, slipping his arms around her and tugging her close, "sounds good to me."

...

By the time everyone was at school the next morning, Friday, now only a day before prom and it was all the school could talk about. The more she heard, the more upset she got, but also was glad she wasn't going and didn't need to deal with it. When her boyfriend met her before Glee at her locker, they greeted each other with a kiss, "hey, babe. You doing okay?" He asked curiously.

"Yes, I suppose. I can't wait for prom to be over. I'm tired of it being all we hear about," she commented.

"Yeah, I know. When the hockey players are talking about something like this during our entire class, you know something big is going on. They're expecting Rick to win," he told her, mentioning the hockey captain, who was running for king.

"I doubt he will," Rachel admitted, slipping her arm around his waist as they began to walk to Glee.

"Same here," he agreed. "I was thinking about something last night and I want you to be prepared for some negative comments when you invite everyone to our little prom party."

Rachel nodded, "I figured there would be. Especially from those who are nominated for king or queen," she replied with a shrug, "it's okay. I'm ready for it. I don't want to go to prom. No one can force me to."

"I agree. I just wanted warn you. I didn't know if you'd thought about it and I've got your back whatever is said, but figured I'd say something before we got into Glee," he said honestly.

"Thank you, Noah," she smiled at him and pressed a kiss to his lips, "I never doubted you'd back me up."

"Good," her returned her smile and guided her into the classroom.

...

Glee started out with a discussion about Nationals options, but then Will moved on to finding out who was planning to sing at prom the next night. As it turned out, the only ones not singing were Sugar, Finn, Kurt, Blaine, Rachel and Puck and Rachel thought it was the best time to talk to everyone, "Mr. Schuester, may I speak to the club?" Rachel wondered, looking at him.

"Of course, Rachel, what's up?" Will asked, motioning to where he was standing.

Getting up, Rachel turned to face the majority of the class, while some, like Santana and Brittany were sitting on the piano bench behind her and Kurt and Blaine were standing near the piano with Finn, "as you might have noticed during the discussion of music for prom, Noah, Blaine, Kurt and I are not offering anything. It's because we're not attending. We're actually throwing our own party," she said honestly, "we've dubbed it an 'Anti-Prom'."

Several of the teens gasped and Mercedes looked at her, "what's an Anti-Prom party?"

"It's a party for those of us who maybe feel a little," she paused, trying to pick the right words, "uninterested in the theme of the actual prom or don't want to attend for our own personal reasons," she explained, "we've got a hotel room at Lima's best hotel, The Red Rooster Express, and any of you are welcome to join us, if you'd rather not go to prom."

"The mood will be celebratory, the food will be catered and we're wearing what we were going to wear to prom," Kurt said from behind her.

"Yes, and unlike the actual prom, which ends at eleven-pm, we can go much later than that," Rachel added happily.

"Okay, how is everyone welcome when this is clearly just a party for you, mohawk boy and those two?" Santana asked from a few feet away, motioning to Kurt and Blaine.

Before Rachel could respond to Santana's question, Artie turned to look at Puck, "but what about your tradition of trying to spike Coach Sylvester's punch bowl? I almost lost my teeth for it last time," he commented.

"It's impossible," Puck admitted, "and I'd rather spend the night with my girlfriend."

"Can we just talk about what this really is?" Santana started, "Rachel Berry isn't getting her way, so she's punishing the rest of us."

"Santana, that's not the case at all," Rachel sighed, preparing for what would come next.

Santana rolled her eyes and stood up, moving to face Rachel, "stop acting like you're fine and start dealing with your crap. Look, you choked at your big audition. I get it. I'm sorry, but it happens and I understand that you're pissed off at the universe, but imploding on one of the last nights that we have to spend together, because basically, you're just not in the mood to dance, is maybe the pettiest thing you've ever done," she commented, "so have fun at your 'I'm a victim' party, acting like you're not some selfish, self-centered..."

At first, Puck expected some of what Santana said, but as her rant continued, he realized she wasn't going to shut up and his blood began to boil. The moment he heard the word 'selfish', he couldn't hold back any longer and jumped up, rushing to stand between Santana and Rachel, glad he was several inches taller than the Cheerio, "watch your fuckin' mouth, you stuck-up bitch!" He hissed, watching her snap back in shock at his tone, "you think everyone needs to follow along with you. Here's a newsflash; we're allowed to make our own choices. Just because you're gonna waste _your_ time going to some lame ass dance, doesn't mean we all have to and end up being miserable all night. We can do what _we_ want and _we_ don't want to go to prom. Simple as that! Rachel was just inviting our friends to join us, if they felt the same way, because not everyone shares your opinion, so calling someone 'petty' and 'selfish' is totally uncalled for and you know it!" He paused, taking a deep breath to prepare to continue, having a whole lot more to say, "and don't you dare try to say that she isn't dealing with her problems, because she is. She just chooses to keep it to herself or among the few people who actually care about her," he turned his attention to the entire club, directing his next comment to all of them, "how many of you have even bothered to say 'sorry to hear about what happened at your audition', 'I'm here for you' or even 'that sucks'? I mean, taking the time to really go up to her and say it and not just doing it because everyone else was. I can count on one hand the people who have done that. You haven't been there to see her boxing up every reminder of Broadway, because it hurts too much to look at right now, or held her while she cried herself to sleep, listened to her talk about what options she has now, or why she didn't have a back-up plan. Some friends you are. Whenever she needs you or is upset, most of you tell her to just 'deal with it', but yet if it was _you_ in Rachel's shoes," he turned back to Santana, "you'd expect every single one of us to feel sorry for you, sing you a sappy song, _and_ try to make you feel better. Yet, when it's her, you just shrug it off like it's no big deal and want to move on. Talk about being hypocrites! This Glee Club is full of double standards and don't tell me it's not true. I'm fuckin' tired of it! So don't stand there and belittle her decision, because if _you_ had the same idea, _you'd_ expect all of us to show up and if we didn't, we'd never hear the end of it!" He finished, taking that moment to step away and walk towards the door, not even bothering to look back at the silent room as he walked out. He definitely didn't want to hear their bitching anymore and he wanted to clear his head, knowing his girlfriend would find him shortly.

Rachel was completely stunned at the very long speech her boyfriend made. She was definitely surprised at everything he said, but her heart also filled with warmth, realizing he'd kept his promise to stand up for her. Not wanting to give anyone the opportunity to talk to her, she quickly followed Puck's path and went in search of him, hoping he'd be easy to find, because she wanted to see him. Rounding the corner near her locker, she paused and smiled, seeing him leaning against it, looking down at his phone, "Noah," she said softly.

Puck looked up and pocketed his phone, ready to defend what he did, "look, in my defense, Santana started it with what she said to you and it was about time someone stood up to her. I'm tired of her attitude, so I don't regret calling her a bitch at all. I also truly meant what I said to you; I'll stand up for you no matter what."

Tears filled her eyes and without saying anything, she closed the distance between them, threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a loving kiss. Any anger she'd had towards what was said in the choir room slowly melted away as their lips connected, only caring about what he'd done.

Instinctively, Puck wrapped his arms around her and held her close, reacting to her kiss and happily returning the gesture, hoping it meant she wasn't mad at him for what he'd said. As the need for air came to him, he reluctantly broke their lips apart, but pressed his forehead against hers, "you okay?"

"More than okay," she assured him, smiling, "thank you, Noah. For standing up for me. I knew you would, but to actually see it, means the world to me," she admitted, before resting her head against his chest, content to just stand there with him.

"You're welcome, but you don't have to thank me. I promised you I would and I meant it. I'm not gonna let someone talk to you like that, babe, you don't deserve it. What she said was totally uncalled for," he told her.

"I know and I had thought my offer of friendship would have stopped that, but apparently not," she sighed, "but it doesn't matter. She's not changing my mind."

"Good," he nodded, "but, if you did end up changing your mind, we can go, you know? It has to be our choice."

"Very true," she agreed, "and I'm pretty sure I won't change my mind, but thanks. Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," he replied, rubbing her back gently.

"How did you know about me taking down all my Broadway stuff in my room? You haven't been in it since I started doing that," she admitted, having purposely kept him out of her room, because she wasn't sure how he'd take what she was doing.

"Your dads told me one night. You went to get something from your room and they said they'd seen it when they'd passed your room and your door was open," he explained.

"Oh. How come you didn't say anything?" She wondered.

"Because I figured you had your reasons for not telling me and I also knew you'd tell me when you were ready. They didn't need to know that detail, though," he motioned in the direction of the choir room.

"Right," she agreed, "I... I was going to tell you, I just didn't want you to talk me out of it. It's too hard right now. It was difficult to sleep with all of it. It gave me more anxiety than I needed," she explained, "I need some time."

"Of course you do. It's only been a week, babe," he kissed her forehead, "but this isn't so you can help yourself give up, right?"

Biting her lip, she took a deep breath, "I don't want to, but I part of me feels like I should."

"I'm not going to let you," he told her honestly, "this is just a bump in the road. You're gonna make it, okay?"

Rachel smiled at him and nodded, "okay."

...

Kurt and Blaine caught up with Puck and Rachel during lunch and talked to them. The guys were shocked at what Puck said, but were also glad he'd stood up for Rachel and their choice and though they didn't expect anyone else to join them, they were happy to be doing what they wanted.

After school, while Kurt, Blaine and Puck stood with Rachel at her locker, talking a little about the next night, Quinn wheeled up to them, "hey, can we talk?" She wondered, looking at Rachel.

"Of course," Rachel nodded.

The three guys offered to leave, but Quinn shook her head, "no, I want you guys to hear this, too. It's about tomorrow night," she admitted, and when she saw all of them shift, she waved her hand, "I'm not here with some secret reason or anything, I just wanted to ask you guys to reconsider attending prom. You all have your reasons for not wanting to and I understand that. Believe me, I hate the theme, but I'm still going. I don't agree with how Santana said it and I can't believe I'm gonna admit this, but she was right about some of it. It is one of our last nights to spend together. The next few weeks are gonna be busy with Nationals and then graduation, so we should take all the time we can to be around each other before we all go in different directions," Quinn explained, looking at them, "I want you guys to come. And if you don't want to stay, then don't, but at least come for a little while. Think about it," she reached out and took Rachel's hand, squeezing it gently, before wheeling off, leaving them to think about her request.

Watching her disappear around the corner, the four teens exchanged glances and Rachel sighed, leaning against her boyfriend. Up until that moment, she was completely against going to prom, but listening to what Quinn said, she couldn't help her feelings start to change, "I guess we've got a lot of thinking to do before tomorrow night," she murmured.

Puck wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "yeah, I guess we do."

"We'll go if you guys go," Kurt commented, glancing at Blaine who nodded in agreement.

Rachel nodded, "maybe we could meet for dinner and decide from there," she suggested, looking at them.

"Sounds good to me," Blaine replied.

"Okay, Breadsticks? It's probably going to be busy, but if we meet around six, it should clear out a little," Kurt admitted, knowing the dance started at seven.

"Yeah, then we're not showing up right at the beginning of the dance if we decide to go," Rachel nodded, biting her lip, "maybe we should."

"Rach, just think on it. We've still got a whole day to decide and if you want to, we will. Don't let what Quinn said make you feel guilty or anything," Puck said, "she wants us to come, but she'll also understand if we don't."

"I know," Rachel nodded, "we'll see how I feel tomorrow."

...

Puck headed over to Rachel's in the afternoon Saturday and they spent the time together, before getting changed in her room. Once they were ready to leave, both dressed in what they'd planned to wear to prom, Rachel's dad's pulled them aside to get some pictures of them together. The couple reluctantly posed for a few photos, but then left, each with an overnight bag and headed for the hotel. They checked into their room and Puck took their bags into it, dropping them off for later, and then the couple made their way to Breadsticks to meet Kurt and Blaine.

Rachel had been doing a lot of thinking about attending prom and though she was still against it, she did feel like they should go, even if they were there for a short time, like Quinn suggested. The conversation about actually going didn't come up until the two couples were almost all the way through their meal, a little after seven that night, "well, I guess it's time to make a decision. I'm fine with either option," Puck commented, glancing at his watch, "but the dance has already started and if we're gonna go, we should probably do that soon."

"I'm open to either," Blaine admitted honestly.

"Me too, so I guess it's up to you," Kurt said, turning his gaze on Rachel, "what do you want to do?"

With many things swirling around in her mind, Rachel glanced down at her pink strapless dress and then turned her gaze to her boyfriend and their friends across the table, all three dressed up, "I've been doing a lot of thinking and maybe we should go. I still think it's a waste of time, but at least we'll be with friends," she admitted.

"That is true, and like Quinn said, if we don't want to stay, we don't have to," Kurt supplied.

Rachel nodded in agreement, "as much as I've been against going, I think maybe we should. We'll never get to experience this the same way again. Last year sucked, honestly. Maybe this year will be different, so we can remember something good from prom," she offered.

The three guys nodded, and Puck shifted to pull his wallet out of his pocket, "then I guess we'll meet you guys at school," he said, glancing at Kurt and Blaine.

Kurt nodded, smiling at them, "alright."

...

Arriving at McKinley a little after seven-thirty, Puck, Rachel, Kurt and Blaine met and walked in together. "We're not gonna be seen as hypocrites, right?" Rachel murmured.

"I don't think we will be. And if people think we are, they can fuck off," Puck replied honestly, as they walked down the hallway towards the gym.

"I totally agree," Kurt nodded, pushing the gym door open as they reached it, a rush of music hitting them.

The only light was coming from long strands of white and blue lights hanging from the ceiling, along with disco balls scattered around. Fake palm trees and large dinosaur models were set up around the gym and a long table with a banner reading 'When Dino-Prom Ruled The Earth' hung on it, was covered in various food and drinks and sitting near one end was Sue Sylvester's famous punch bowl, full of a red liquid. Music was beating through the speakers and a stage off to one side was set up, for the club to use and the band was currently sitting in front of a prehistoric dinosaur backdrop.

Hand-in-hand the couple walked in, passing under an archway of balloons and looked around, taking everything in and looking to see if they could find their friends. "Just help me stay away from Brittany. I'm not washing my hair out just because of her rule," Blaine commented.

"Don't worry," Puck smirked, "just tell her it's a lot of hair spray. She never said anything about that."

"I didn't even think about that. Thanks, man," Blaine smiled.

"No problem," Puck replied.

"Let's dance!" Kurt exclaimed, grabbing Blaine's hand and tugging him towards the dance floor, when one of his favorite songs came on.

Rachel laughed lightly at the two and then turned to her boyfriend, "I suppose since we're here, we could dance a little."

Puck took her hand and nodded, "yeah, that could definitely be arranged," he agreed, pressing a kiss to her hand, before they both began walking towards the dance floor.

...

With her hands around her boyfriend's waist, Rachel tried to relax as they danced lightly to the song playing and as it came to an end, she glanced a few feet away and noticed Quinn coming towards them, "hey, Quinn," she greeted.

"Hey Puck, Rachel. You guys are here," Quinn smiled, "I wasn't sure if you would show up."

Rachel took a deep breath, "to be honest. Kurt, Blaine, Noah and I didn't decide until dinner about an hour ago. They were open for either, and were letting me make the final decision. At first, I just didn't see a reason to come, but after hearing what some people said, including you, I realized we probably should, because you were right. It is one of the last times we'll all be together."

Quinn nodded, "I'm glad you guys made it. I know you both have had a rough few weeks, which I'm sorry about, but tonight's a good night to help forget about it all and have some fun, right?"

"Yeah, it is," Rachel agreed, "so, have we missed much? We just got here before the last song started. Any of our friends sing yet?"

"Brittany sang 'Dinosaur' by Ke$ha about fifteen minutes ago with some Cheerios as back-up dancers. Santana should be going on soon," Quinn explained, "and Finn and I have to share at least one dance together before voting starts at eight," she admitted, deciding to keep her 'fight' with Finn, in the bathroom, to herself.

"Good luck, tonight. I'll be voting for you," Rachel told her honestly, pushing aside her previous feelings to be supportive of her friend.

Quinn smiled, "thanks."

...

The three chatted for a few more minutes, but when they saw Tina, Brittany and Santana walk up on stage, they knew Santana was about to start her song. Quinn looked around and saw Finn by the snack table, so she excused herself to get Finn for their one required dance, and Rachel and Puck returned to dancing, listening to Santana sing Selena Gomez's song 'Love You Like A Love Song' with Tina and Brittany as her back-up.

As they danced, Rachel glanced around the gym a little and saw Mercedes and Sam dancing together, and off to her other side, not too far away was Finn and Quinn dancing together. "Is it just me or does something seem to be going on between Finn and Quinn?" Rachel asked her boyfriend softly.

"What?" Puck turned to look at them, "what about them?"

"Quinn's looking around nervously and Finn doesn't even want to look at her," she murmured.

"Oh, yeah he does look pissed, but what about?" Puck wondered.

Rachel shrugged, "let's go ask," she said, guiding him towards the couple, just as she heard Quinn say, "it's just one dance. Can you finish it with me?"

"Yeah, I will... As soon as you stand up and show everybody how much you deserve this. How much you deserve to be Prom Queen," Finn told her harshly, dropping her hands, just as Puck and Rachel reached them.

"Are you really doing this right now?" Quinn hissed, nervously glancing around the gym.

"What? Making you walk? Making you stand up and show everybody how much of a crazy lair you are? Yeah! Come on! Stand up!" Finn exclaimed.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Puck snapped, moving towards Finn as Joe joined them.

Finn glared at Joe, "did you know that she could walk, too? You must with all that _physical therapy_ you've been given her!"

Rachel gasped, looking at the anger in Finn's eyes and glanced at Puck before her eyes landed on Quinn, who was now turning red, "finish the dance with me!" Quinn begged.

"Stand the hell up!" Finn yelled, bending down as if he was going to force Quinn from her chair.

Puck and Joe rushed forward, pushing Finn away from her, "what is wrong with you?" Joe exclaimed.

Before Finn could respond, Sue rushed in, grabbing Finn by the shoulder, "hey! You forcing me to eject you from yet another prom, Hudson?" She snapped.

Finn glared at her and then glanced at Quinn, "not this time, coach," he replied, before storming away from the small group.

"Good idea, grumps!" Sue called out, watching Finn walk away, then turned to look at Joe, "what are you lookin' at, Jar Jar Binks?" She wondered, before going back to guarding her punch bowl.

Joe, Puck, Rachel and Quinn were silent for a moment, trying to process what just happened, "Quinn, are you alright?" Rachel asked, reaching out to rest her hand on Quinn's shoulder.

Quinn took a deep breath, "I'm fine. I just need a minute," she said quickly, rolling away.

"Quinn!" Rachel called out, then glanced at her boyfriend who just nodded in the direction of Quinn, silently telling her he knew where she was going. Rachel returned his nod and then dashed off, following Quinn and ending up in the girls bathroom. Watching Quinn get a tissue to wipe her eyes, Rachel walked over to her, "Quinn, you're not fine," she said softly.

"No, I'm not," Quinn murmured, dabbing tears from her eyes and checking to make sure her make-up didn't run.

"Don't let Finn upset you. He was completely out of line and being an idiot," Rachel commented.

"I know," Quinn nodded, taking a deep breath and trying to calm down, "and I don't know why I even bothered to campaign with him. I can't stand his attitude! I hope it doesn't hurt my chances of winning, because I've dreamed of winning for so long."

"I don't think it will," Rachel assured her, "plenty of people will be voting for you. Out of all the candidates, you deserve it the most. You're beautiful, popular, talented, inspirational, humble, friendly, and honestly, I'm jealous that I'll never get a chance to even be nominated for queen."

"You're jealous of me?" Quinn gasped, looking at her and realizing something.

"When we first met, you were everything I wanted to be," Rachel started, biting her lip, "and part of the reason why I didn't want to come to prom was because I've been upset knowing the school would never vote for me. I'd love to be recognized for something like this, but they still see me as a loser and it sucks. I've lost so much over these past few weeks and I honestly don't know what the hell I'm going to do, right now, but even being nominated would have helped give me some hope that things would work out, you know?"

"Things are going to work out, Rachel," Quinn said honestly, reaching out to take her hand, "you're going to make it. I know it. You're a star," she assured her, "and I'm sorry. I didn't realize this was bothering you, though I just realized that I should have figured it out yesterday when you said you guys weren't coming."

"It's okay. You don't have to apologize. I purposely kept it from people, because I didn't want _certain_ people to make a big deal about it," she admitted.

"You mean Santana?" Quinn wondered, already knowing the answer.

Rachel nodded, "yeah. After what she said yesterday, I'm glad I kept among a few people, because I can only imagine what she'd say if she knew," she took a deep breath, wanting to change the subject a little, "when I look back on my high school career, one of the accomplishments that I'm gonna be so proud of is that I found a way to be your friend and as your friend, I want you to know that I completely support you. I want you to win," she replied with a smile, squeezing her hand.

Quinn returned her smile and nodded, "thank you and I'm really glad we're friends, too, and I hope we always are," she paused, looking around at the empty bathroom.

"What is it?" Rachel asked, noticing what she was doing.

"I need to tell you something," she said, "it's why Finn was so pissed at me."

"Hard telling with him. It's not like you could just..." Rachel paused, watching Quinn rest her left hand on the sink and carefully move her feet from the pedals on her chair. Using her right arm, Quinn pushed herself up so she was standing, using the sink to brace herself, "oh my God," Rachel gasped.

Quinn bit her lip, "I was doing this earlier before you got here and Finn caught me. He got pissed because he felt like I was lying to everyone," she explained, turning a little so her back was to the sink and her hands were holding onto the edge behind her, "I just started doing this at physical therapy this week and I wanted to surprise everyone when I won. I tried to explain that to him, but he wouldn't listen. I'm far from normal and have fallen more times than I can count, but I'm getting better."

Rachel felt tears in her eyes as she rushed towards her, wrapping her arms around her in a hug, "this is amazing, Quinn!" She exclaimed, pulling back a little, but staying close to help her balance.

Gladly returning her hug, Quinn smiled as she started to pull back, leaving one arm around Rachel's shoulders, while her other hand rested on the corner of the sink, "so you're not mad?"

"Of course not! I'm so happy for you," Rachel said honestly, "a few months ago no one knew if you'd ever walk again and now look at you, Quinn! It's wonderful!"

Quinn smiled at her, "thanks."

"Alright, you two, I'm coming in. Joe is worried about Quinn, but is too chicken to come in here, so he asked me to check on... Whoa," Puck froze in the doorway, his eyes widening in shock at seeing Quinn standing up.

The unexpected interruption startled Quinn and she jumped a little, causing her shaky legs to give out, "shit," she hissed, reaching for her chair, trying not to put all her weight on Rachel, but at the moment she was the only thing keeping her from falling to the floor.

Seeing her struggling, Puck rushed over, "sorry, Quinn, I didn't mean to scare you," he said quickly, nudging her chair closer and slipping his arm around her back, and between the three of them, got her settled back into the seat.

"It's okay," she waved off his apology, "I just wasn't expecting it and I'm still very weak," she replied, "thanks for the help."

"No problem," he glanced between Rachel and Quinn, "is everything alright in here?"

"Yes, it is," Rachel nodded, smiling at Quinn, who nodded in agreement.

"Alright, cool. So, is it safe to assume that Finn found out and got pissed?" He wondered and when Quinn nodded, he continued, "now it all makes sense, but that still doesn't excuse him raising a hand to you, or well, trying to force you to stand up. That's wrong on _so_ many levels. He definitely doesn't deserve to be even a king nominee after that, let alone be given a chance to win," he admitted honestly.

"I agree," Rachel nodded, slipping her arm around her boyfriend's waist.

Puck pressed a kiss to her forehead as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, then turned back to Quinn, "congratulations, Quinn. I'm really glad to see you're getting better," he told her, "it's nice to see there's at least one person not failing around here, like I am."

Rachel nudged him in the stomach, "Noah, stop it. You just had some bad luck, that's all. Quit calling yourself a failure. If you won't let me think I'm a failure, then I'm not letting you, either," she told him.

"Neither of you are failures," Quinn supplied, "you'll figure it out. Just don't give up," she added, glancing at Puck, "and thanks. I'm far from healed, but getting there."

"I see that," he nodded, "so, when are you going to tell everyone?"

"Tonight sometime, so keep it quiet for now, okay?" She requested.

"Alright, no problem," Puck nodded, then motioned towards the gym. "Come on, the guys are going to sing in a few minutes and they want us to watch."

...

Settling their conversation, the three moved out of the bathroom and was immediately met by Joe, concerned about Quinn. She assured him she was fine and then he, Mike, Rory, Sam and Artie headed up on stage to sing the song 'What Makes You Beautiful' by One Direction.

"So, are you glad we came to prom?" Puck asked Rachel curiously as they danced lightly to their friend's song.

Rachel reached up, adjusting his black tie a little and then rested her hands on his chest, covered by a white dress shirt, under his leather jacket, "yeah, I am. Not a very good prom theme, but we're hanging around with our friends, so it's okay," she shrugged.

Puck pressed a kiss to her lips, his hands resting gently on her hips, "we are and just say the word if you want to go."

She nodded, "thanks, but I'd like to stay, at least until we find out who wins, you know?"

"Yeah, I get ya. That's fine with me," he assured her.

"You know what I'm really glad about?" She wondered and when he raised a curious eyebrow at her, she continued, "I told Quinn earlier I'm glad we managed to get to be friends, which is true, but I'm also extremely happy that you and I got back together and we gave our relationship a second chance. In some ways, I really wish we'd never broken up, but part of me is glad we did, because I was able to get _him_ out of my system. Since we've been back together, I've realized that you're really the one I want to be with and I'm not letting go again," she stood up a little taller and kissed him gently, "I love you, Noah."

Returning her kiss and resting his forehead against hers as they pulled apart, Puck smiled, "I love you, too, babe, and I promise I'm not letting you go again, either."

...

Clapping for their friends once they finished their song, the Glee members all seemed to join up to talk a little, relaxing at a few of the tables set up. It's wasn't long before voting began for king and queen and the nominees got up to mingle with classmates, hoping to get a few extra votes. The couples, Sam and Mercedes, Rachel and Puck, Kurt and Blaine, found themselves back on the dance floor, dancing to the music and when everyone had their ballots cast, Quinn and Santana took the boxes into an empty classroom to count the votes, leaving everyone else to wonder who would win.

"Thank you for not trying to spike the punch this year," Rachel commented softly, while she and Puck danced.

Puck rubbed her back, knowing where she was going with that, "you're welcome. I'm not gonna try something stupid that's gonna get me kicked out, I promise. I won't ruin your prom night," he assured her, remembering Jesse and Finn getting kicked out the year before.

"I appreciate that, Noah," she leaned up and kissed him before relaxing against his chest.

"I've got better things to do than worry about distracting Coach Sylvester so I could," he added, looking at her, "like be with my gorgeous girlfriend. I have told you that tonight, right? You look amazing."

Rachel smiled, blushing at the compliment, "yes, you have said that a few times, but I love hearing it, so feel free to say it again."

He winked at her and leaned in, pressing a kiss to the soft skin right next to her ear, "you look amazing, and I also can't wait to get you out of that dress," he whispered, his hands resting on the small of her back.

The words were unexpected and she couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips, "Noah..."

"What?" He grinned, pulling back to look at her, "it's true."

Rachel felt her heart begin to race as her cheeks began to warm up, unsure exactly what was making her blush more - his words or because she couldn't wait to get back to the hotel, "maybe we should leave right after the coronation," she murmured.

Studying her features, Puck smiled gently, willing to hold back if she wanted to wait, "if that's what you're ready for."

"I'm ready, Noah. I want to share ourselves with each other and I can't imagine this night ending any other way," she assured him.

Puck nodded, hugging her tightly, "it's the only way I imagine tonight ending, too."

...

It seemed like forever that Santana and Quinn were gone, but in reality, it was only about forty minutes. When the two girls entered the gym, a white envelope was sitting in Quinn's lap and the two went right over to Principal Figgins and handed it over to him. He thanked the girls and walked right up on stage and got everyone's attention, starting out by calling the nominees for king and queen up on stage.

When the six teens were standing up there, Rachel, Puck and the rest of the Glee members slipped closer to the stage, waiting to hear the announcement, but Santana stepped forward, whispering something in Figgins' ear, before retaking her spot next to Quinn.

"I would like to invite last year's queen, sassy Kurt Hummel, to crown this year's winners," Figgins started, motioning towards where Kurt was standing next to Blaine, Rachel and Puck. Kurt hesitated, but with Blaine and Rachel's encouragement, he walked up to the stage and stood next to Figgins, then the principal continued, "I've just been informed that the winners are a couple, so Ms. Lopez suggested they be announced together. Is everyone alright with that?"

The large group of students cheered and Rachel immediately assumed that the winners were Santana and Brittany, the only two nominated that together made a couple. Sharing a glance with Blaine and Puck, she turned her attention back to the stage, waiting for confirmation of her assumption.

Figgins pulled the card from the envelope he held and looked over the winning names, "students, for the second year in a row we have prom anarchy. Receiving the majority of write-in votes, I would like to welcome on the stage, your 2012 Prom King and Queen," he paused briefly to allow a drum roll to fill the room, "Mr. Noah 'Puck' Puckerman and Ms. Rachel Berry!" He called out, clapping as the spotlight quickly panned into the audience to Puck and Rachel.

Rachel's mouth fell open in shock as Puck's eyes widened, the entire room falling into a shocked silence, before clapping and cheering erupted from the teens. Puck recovered quicker than Rachel and took her hand, guiding them through the large group and up onto the stage. He couldn't help sharing a confused glance with Santana and Quinn as the two girls smiled and clapped with everyone else. Pushing aside a bunch of questions, he and Rachel turned around to face everyone.

Kurt happily picked up the king's crown and placed it on Puck's head as Figgins handed him the scepter and then Kurt looked at Rachel, "smile and breathe," he said softly, letting the queen's tiara settle onto her head.

Taking Kurt's advice, Rachel took a deep breath and looked around as he handed over her scepter, confused, shocked and worried there was some bad reason why she'd been chosen as queen. Puck had been nominated the year before, so she wasn't too surprised he'd been picked, but as far as she knew, she'd never been on the school's radar as even an option, let alone have enough people want her to be queen that she'd get enough write-in votes.

"McKinley Titans, bow down to your new leaders," Figgins grinned as the teens cheered again, "and now, the first dance of this year's Senior King and Queen," he motioned in front of the stage, as the band behind him began to play Santana and Quinn's duet, 'Take My Breath Away' by Berlin.

Rachel smiled lightly, feeling her heart racing as she took Puck's hand and let him guide her back onto the dance floor, this time their classmates parting in the middle to give them some room. Puck turned to face her and they stepped close to start dancing as Quinn began singing on stage and Rachel couldn't help the nerves building, "I... I don't understand," she murmured, "we weren't even nominated and," she bit her lip, "is this some kind of joke or something? What if they only voted for me because I'm your girlfriend and they wanted you to be king?"

"Babe, stop. Don't do this," Puck murmured, taking her hand in his, "you deserve to be queen. You're more beautiful than any of the nominees, inside and out, you're smart, driven, involved with a lot of clubs in school and to be honest, you're an inspiration to every single person in this room, just like you are to me. You've helped me be a better person, even by just believing in me and loving me for who I am," he reached up and brushed her cheek gently, smiling at her, "so don't question the 'why'. I'm just as curious as you are, but let's just enjoy this, together, because your knight just got crowned king and my princess just became queen. It's not every day we can experience something like this and we shouldn't let our worries ruin it, okay?" He asked softly, looking into her eyes as they swayed to the music.

"Okay," Rachel smiled lightly at him, tears filling her eyes, as she slid her arms around him and rested her head on his chest, trying to push aside her thoughts.

Puck pressed a kiss to her forehead, then settled for a moment to just dance, but he couldn't help his eyes dashing around the room, looking out for anything unusual. As they danced, he saw Sam and Mercedes together a few feet away. Sam smiled and gave him a thumbs up, and that helped calm his nerves a little, so he returned the sentiment and noticed Mike doing the same thing as he danced with Tina. Glad to have the silent support from two of his best friends, Puck returned his focus to Rachel, snuggled up to him.

At her boyfriend's calming words, Rachel's worries had subsided a little and for the moment did her best to push the rest away so she could enjoy the moment. She'd never forget it, being crowned queen with her boyfriend being king. It was a perfect memory for her and she didn't want it ruined by some stupid joke, so she prayed that it wasn't for some humiliating prank.

Rachel's negative thoughts were slowly dissipating, being replaced by the encouraging words her friends recently had said to her and it finally clicked that others believed in her, so she should start believing in herself again. She'd been down on herself, skeptical of her future and worried she'd lost her dream, but this one moment was the extra kick she needed to snap her out of the 'funk' she'd been in, to help her push forward and fight to make it, somehow.

Lost in her mind, Rachel looked towards the stage and gasped, "Noah," she murmured, catching his attention.

Puck followed her gaze, seeing Quinn's feet now on the floor and the blond was pushing herself up from her chair and grabbing onto the mic stand for support, as she and Santana continued to sing. "Wow," he smiled, pulling back from Rachel a little.

Quickly the sight washed over the gym and soon everyone was clapping, cheering and whistling for Quinn, as Santana rushed to her side to help support her. It wasn't exactly how Quinn wanted to show everyone she was getting better, but from noise echoing through the gym , it was just enough to make the moment special for her.

Tears filled Rachel's eyes again and she turned back to her boyfriend, smiling at him, "never in a million years would I have thought that someone like me could actually win prom queen. I dreamed of it, but I didn't think it really would happen. Now, I'm queen, you're king and after seeing Quinn walking when we weren't sure if she ever would, I've realized that anything is possible and that you all believe in me, so maybe it's time for me to believe in myself again. Maybe this was our sign to encourage us to not give up, that we can do it," she told him, "that you'll somehow graduate and I'll make it into NYADA after all."

Puck smiled at what she said and nodded, "yeah, maybe it is," he replied, reaching up to wipe her eyes, "now we have something to celebrate tonight, too," he added with a wink.

Rachel smiled, standing up to press a kiss to his lips, "yes, we do."

...

Once Rachel and Puck's dance was over, confetti began to rain down on the dance floor, covering both of them and everyone else in multicolored pieces of paper. Classmates and friends congratulated Puck and Rachel on winning and the couple happily thanked them, glad to see everyone seemed to support their win. They were also congratulating Quinn, and those moments of the night seemed to be the ending to prom, a lot of the teens beginning to leave.

"Come on, Noah, let's get going," she said softly, after another song ended.

"As you wish, my queen," Puck replied with a grin, pulling away a bit, but left an arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"King Noah and Queen Rachel. I like the sound of that," she commented, a blush growing on her cheeks as they walked towards the exit, waving at friends who were still there.

He smirked, "me, too. I can honestly say I never thought I'd be any kind of royalty."

...

Puck and Rachel snuggled up together in bed to calm their racing hearts, as they came down from a wonderful high, giving both of them a strong feeling of love and contentment. "I'm never going to forget this night," Rachel admitted, resting her hand on his bare chest just over his heart.

"Neither am I, babe," he assured her, taking a deep breath as they relaxed, "you okay?"

"More than okay," she promised, tugging the sheet further up so it was covering their bodies a little more to keep warm, "you were wonderful and I'm quite content."

"Good to know," he pressed a kiss to her forehead and rubbed her back, "are you sore anywhere?"

"No, I'm not. At least not at the moment. I might not know until morning," she admitted.

"Maybe. Just let me know if you are. I brought some Tylenol just in case," he said, "I wasn't sure, um, and I didn't know..."

"It was only a few times, but they were quite spaced out," she explained simply, "and that's all I'll say if you'd rather not know."

"I won't deny that you've been with someone, but since he's a friend, I'd rather not think about it, you know? Honestly, sometimes it's hard to look at Finn, because I'm reminded that you guys have had sex and it pisses me off. I know it sounds a little territorial, but no guy wants to think about their girl being with someone else, especially if they're also friends. It's part of the reason why I haven't told you much about my past. You know I've been with others, but I don't want you to know details, because I want us to focus on our relationship, not our past," he told her, "does that make sense?"

Rachel nodded and shifted closer to him to kiss him lovingly, her hand moving to rest on his cheek, "yes it does," she assured him, "and as far as I'm concerned, I just had my first time, Noah. I've never felt the way you made me feel tonight and it's an experience I want us to continue to share whenever we can, because I _know_ you'll be just as gentle and respectful as you were now, yet you'll still make me feel wonderful and show me things I never knew about," she explained, pressing another kiss to his lips, "my other first... I'm considering it a learning experience I'd rather forget."

Puck reached up and brushed his hand through her hair, "if that's how you want to feel, then you can. I won't try to change your mind either way on that. It's your decision," he told her, shifting a little, so his head was laying more on the pillows. As he moved, the dim light on the nightstand beside the bed reflected off their crowns and the evening's events came back to him, "I know I asked you earlier, but that was before we won king and queen. How do you feel about prom now? Are you glad we went?"

"I'm very glad we went to prom," she shifted her body so she was laying partially over him, "this whole night, from us winning at prom to this moment right now, has been one of the best nights of my life and I'm so glad we got to share it all together. I also don't want it to end just yet, so I was thinking," her hand gently came to rest on his side, "that maybe we could make love again."

He grinned, having had a feeling when she moved that she was gong to suggest it, so he thought about his answer for a moment, "I think that definitely could be arranged, my Queen, because I would never turn down your request."

...

A few lyrics from 'Big Girls Don't Cry' by Fergie (as sung by Lea, Chris and Darren in this episode) were used in this fic. I do not own; just borrowing for this work of fiction.

...

A/N4: Wow! 28 pages! I thought would be shorter. Took me a lot longer to write this, because of a lot of things going on, but I did it and I hope you all enjoyed! Please review and let me know what you think!

A/N5: Only three more 'episodes' left! Props, Nationals and Goodbye. I honestly don't know how long they will be, but I can imagine they'll be about 20 pages, maybe more, maybe less; depends on how much I have to work on.

A/N6: Though this is a stand alone fic, it is the Glee 'side' of my LJ Lark series. I haven't titled it yet, nor have I worked on a new part to it, but I will be trying to do that soon. Eventually I'll have it (along with all my other fics) posted on AO3, because I finally got an account there (SapphireEJ), but I haven't had the time to learn about it enough to post any of my fics, so that's a project for this summer, among other things.

**My health** - Thank you all for your support and understanding! In mid-June I had my gallbladder removed after finding out that it was only working at 6%. My surgery went very well, I was home within 2 hours after I was out of surgery and after spending a few days on the couch, I was up and moving around a lot more. I'm mostly back to myself, but for a while there I did have some issues dealing with what I ate, but that's mostly gone, though there are some things that don't agree with me still. For a while I was playing catch up, and I'm not completely caught up, but I'm getting there. Thanks again for all the well wishes you guys sent my way. It really means a lot and hopefully I'll be back to updating a little more frequently soon.

...


	8. Part 8: '3x20' '8a & 8b on LJ'

Title: Breakaway, Part 8/?

**Spoilers:** This part to '3x20 - Props'; whole series will be through the Glee season 3 finale.

Disclaimer1: I don't own Glee, so I'm just borrowing the characters and ideas for the fun of writing, *but* I do own the original characters, original plot and other original ideas.

A/N1: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

Disclaimer2: Title from one of my favorite Kelly Clarkson songs 'Breakaway'. Just borrowing. I don't own!

...

Disclaimer3: Any familiar lines from the episode listed have been underlined... Just borrowing them! I don't own!

A/N3: There's a brief line from '3x21 - Nationals', but it's not really a spoiler, so I didn't list it as one. I will explain in the chapter's author's notes at the end.

...

"So, here's what you missed on Glee... Kurt pulled a last minute switcheroo for Carmen Tibideaux and nailed his NYADA audition, while Rachel went with 'Defying Gravity' from Wicked, which she and Kurt sang two years ago and she totally choked... Beiste admitted that her husband, Cooter, hit her, but she lied and said she left him, when actually she stayed... Puck choked on his final test in class and now can't graduate, which sucks because a while back, he told everybody that graduating high school was something he was really looking forward to... The Glee club has been ignoring Tina all year long, actually, she kinda got ignored last year, too. Actually Tina's sort of been ignored the whole time and she's been in the New Directions, like forever. The first time she got a solo, she insisted she was bad and forced Mr. Schue to give the song to Rachel and every solo since, she's either gotten booed or started crying uncontrollably. No one noticed she went from dressing Punk, to dressing Goth, to dressing like a Go-Go dancer in 60s Swinging London. She even got Mike Chang into college and she hardly got a 'thank you'. Sometimes people don't even seem to know her name... Santana and Quinn decided to change the winners for king and queen and swore they'd never tell their secret and Puck and Rachel were crowned Prom King and Queen and then went back to a hotel and had their first time as a couple and Rachel decided that she's not going to give up on her dream of NYADA... Oh! And Jesse St. James is coaching Vocal Adrenaline and their lead singer is Wade, asked Kurt and Mercedes advice about going on stage at Carmel's Regionals dressed as a woman, Unique. They encouraged him to, and Vocal Adrenaline won their Regionals, so they'll be competing against New Directions at Nationals... And that's what you missed on Glee."

...

**3x20 - Props**

...

After becoming Prom Royalty, Rachel and Puck thoroughly enjoyed spending the entire night together and when Rachel woke up Sunday morning, she had a refreshed outlook on her dreams. She decided she wasn't going to give up and once Puck took her home, she found the number to Carmen Tibideaux and called her, leaving a message, asking for a second chance. During the rest of Sunday, she called the woman several more times, leaving similar messages and even went as far as ordering a delivery of muffins to be delivered to her office that day, in hopes it would help sway the woman into giving her one more opportunity to shine. She also invited her to Nationals, to see New Directions during the competition. Her random calls continued through the day, and even sent some emails, and though her dads and boyfriend tried to get her to stop, she was determined and only gave it a rest once she got ready for bed.

Monday morning, Rachel found herself up extra early, sitting at her desk, writing in her journal. She had so much to write and nearby was her cell phone. She planned to call Carmen a few more times that day and hoped this time she'd be able to catch the woman, or at least talk to someone. Once she'd taken almost an hour to spill her thoughts onto the pages of her journal, she finished with '_getting accepted to NYADA is my__ educational __Destiny_'.

Taking a deep breath, she picked up her phone and pulled up her messages and wrote one to her boyfriend and hoped he was up, "_ca__n you meet me at school in the auditorium? There's a song I want to sing._"

"_I can be there in 30, babe,_" was Puck's quick response.

Rachel grinned happily at his message and replied, "_thank you! See you then, Noah! Love you!_"

...

Arriving at McKinley thirty minutes earlier than normal, Rachel stashed everything in her locker except her phone and the sheet music she wanted to work on and headed for the auditorium. Once she stepped inside, she heard notes coming from the piano and saw her boyfriend sitting on the bench, "you beat me here," Rachel commented, walking up to the stage where he was.

"Yeah. Didn't have to stop at my locker, so I came right here," he admitted, rubbing his eyes a little, "so what's up?" He wondered, still trying to wake up.

"Did you wake up when I messaged you?" She wondered curiously, kissing him gently as she reached him.

"No, but I just had woken up," he took a deep breath and smiled at her, "morning, babe."

Rachel returned his smile, sliding onto the bench next to him, "good morning, Noah," she whispered, kissing him once more.

Puck brought one of his hands up to rest on her cheek and returned the kiss, "it's already a better morning."

"Is that because you're at school or because I kissed you?" She asked, winking at him.

"Because I'm with my girl," he explained, then noticed the music, "what song did you want to sing?" He asked, motioning to the papers.

Rachel flipped to the front page, "'I Won't Give Up' by Jason Mraz. I know it's about a relationship, but it also makes me think of NYADA. I'm not going to give up on it. It's where I need to go to continue my education."

"Yeah, it is," Puck agreed, "and it's a good song."

"I also want to dedicate it to you," she added softly.

"To me?" He looked at her shocked.

"Yes," she nodded, "I've told you before that I believe in you and I'm sticking with you. I mean it. I won't give up on us," she told him truthfully, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"I don't deserve you," he murmured against her lips,

"Yes you do. Don't talk like that," Rachel replied, looking at him, "you deserve to be happy."

"Thanks, babe," Puck smiled, glancing over the music.

Rachel stood up and moved to lean against the piano so she could face him and within a few moments, he began to the play the piano part of the song. Coming in at the right moment, Rachel began to sing words, talking about not giving up, no matter what happens. As she reached the final verse, she slid back onto the piano bench next to him and rested her hand on his shoulder, singing the words directly to him, "_I won't give up on us, even if the skies get rough. I'm giving you all my love, I'm still looking up..._"

Puck smiled at her as he finished the last few notes, "that means a lot, babe," he said softly.

"I mean it. I'm not giving up on us, just like I'm not giving up on NYADA," she replied honestly.

"Good," he nodded.

Reaching for her phone, she picked it up and pulled up Carmen's office number and hit the send button. Listening to it ring and then go to her voice mail again, she heard the same message over again, so she took a deep breath and waited for the tone before speaking. "Hi, Madam Tibideaux. This is Rachel Berry calling. I understand that 14 messages is a lot, but I just wanted to make sure that you got the muffin basket that I sent as well as the invitation to come see my show choir perform at our Nationals in Chicago... I would really love it if you could be there to watch us perform. If anything, just to show you that what happened at my audition was a fluke and that I do have the talent and the ability to study with you next year at NYADA. I understand that asking you to make the trip is a lot, but I'm really not ready to give up on my dreams... Thank you very much."

As she hung up the phone, Puck rested a hand on her back and rubbed it gently, "she'll come," he murmured softly.

Rachel nodded, "I hope so."

...

Thanking Puck for meeting her early, the couple hung out until they needed to get to class and then met up at her locker just before Glee, like usual. Once everyone got into Glee and had settled into their seats, Will and Sue came in and Will wrote 'Nationals' on the white board.

"Nationals," Will started, hearing everyone cheering, "okay, song selection... Out of all the songs we've picked out, I've decided that we'll be kicking off our vintage theme with the legendary Jim Steinman's 'Paradise By The Dashboard Light'. Rachel will do the solo, 'It's All Coming'..."

"'It's All Coming Back To Me Now'... One of Celine Dion's most powerful ballads, inspired by Wuthering Heights," Rachel clapped happily.

"And we'll be working in a new Troubletones number, utilizing the talents of our featured performer, Porcelaina Hummel," Sue added, motioning to Kurt.

"Not gonna happen, Dragon Lady," Kurt replied, shaking his head.

"Now we talked about this earlier, Hummel. Because of the little bit of advice you and Mercedes gave Vocal Adrenaline's lead to dress in drag, which helped them win their Regionals, you're gonna have to do the same thing for Nationals and you'll do as you're told, he-she," Sue snapped at Kurt, "we will be performing 'Edge of Glory' by Lady Gaga... And on that note, please look under your seats."

All the teens reached under their seats and found boxes with two strange items, "welding helmets and leg warmers?" Finn asked completely confused.

"Best way to get props is to use props... A healthy dose of props and our plucky transsexual Porcelaina and you're over the top," Sue said happily.

"Aren't props a little cheesy?" Blaine wondered.

"They're a lot cheesy," Puck replied with sigh.

"Guys, I've asked for Sue's help, because she's a winner and I'm not ashamed to admit this. I want to win," Will said looking around at the teens, "but there's not one person in that audience who will think we're anything but underdogs who will be lucky to place at Nationals. We didn't even make the top ten last year," he sadly reminded them, "we've got one last week to come together and shake things up. If there's anyone here who's not up for trying and working their butts off, you should just get up right now and leave," Will said, not expecting anyone to actually leave.

Having held her tongue long enough, Tina stood up and started walking towards the door.

"Whoa, Tina, where are you going?" Mike asked.

"You guys don't need me. Carry on!" She snapped, turning to stare at everyone.

"Tina, you don't understand, I need this to be perfect," Rachel quickly said.

Tina took a deep breath and glared at Rachel, "because you blew an audition? That's not a reason for you to get a solo at Nationals. Maybe the rest of us would like one, too!" She hissed, turning to look at Will.

Mike motioned to Rachel, "Tina, Rachel is a Senior."

"So are you, but you can bet the only thing you'll be doing is a dance break with Brittany," she retorted, looking at Will again, "other people matter."

"Tina, you may not always get the solos, but you are a key player. I put you in charge of costumes," Will told her.

"Wow! Like that's some prize!" Tina commented sarcastically, "you want props to move around? Well, I'm a human prop and I'm sick of it!" She exclaimed, before storming out of the classroom.

Mike chased after her and Rachel gathered her thoughts, trying to figure out what to do and then jumped up, rushing to the doorway, just as Mike walked away from Tina. Taking her shot, she walked over to her, "Tina, I understand that you feel like your voice is being stifled right now in the Glee Club and, I mean, I have no idea why you would choose this moment specifically to make a stink about it, but I want you to know you are being heard. But I'm begging you to let this all go until after Nationals," Rachel asked as nice as she could.

Tina just stared at her and shook her head, moving to walk away from her, but Rachel chased after her, "do you have any idea how important Nationals is to me? I mean, if I can convince Carmen Tibideaux to come watch us perform, then it's basically like a do-over for my NYADA audition, which means my entire future depends on this being amazing. Which means everyone needs to do their part," Rachel explained, trying to stay calm, but she was starting to get pissed.

Tina rolled her eyes, "their part to make you look good! I have sat for three years in the back of that choir room, holding Mike's hand or crying or smiling and swaying while everyone else was up there singing solos. Maybe I say something, but most of the time I don't. Team player all the way," she motioned to herself, "I'm tired of being silent. I am one of the original Glee Club members and I was singing 'Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat' when Finn and Puck were still throwing slushies at us, so when is it my turn?"

Deciding to try a different tactic, Rachel took a deep breath, "do you have any idea how difficult is is to be me? Do you have a Facebook account or Twitter account?"

"Yes," Tina nodded.

"Do you attempt to watch TV? To read a book? Do you go out every night? Do you hang out with your friends or boyfriend all the time?" Rachel wondered and when the girl shrugged, she continued, "I see my boyfriend daily, but most of the time he's playing music for me to sing along to. We don't go out that often and even though I have Facebook and Twitter, I hardly use them and I can't remember the last time I kept up with a TV show; I don't have time. I get up extra early in the morning just to get all of this prepared in case a solo is thrown my way. I have the entire Sondheim, Hamlisch, Lloyd Webber and Elton John song books memorized, including every single Katy Perry hit as well. And I do all of this while keeping my boyfriend interested (...) and keeping a 3.86 GPA."

"I can do all that," Tina told her honestly.

"And you will. Next year. You'll have your chance next year," Rachel told her.

Tina shook her head and sighed, "all I want is for one moment to feel like you. To be up on that stage and getting one of the standing ovations you're so used to getting," she said simply, before turning and walking away.

Rachel's shoulders slumped and she sighed, completely shocked that Tina was causing problems. She understood where she was coming from, but of all the times, it had to be just before Nationals.

"You okay, babe?" Puck asked, walking up behind her.

"No," she shook her head, turning and wrapping her arms around him, "why now? Why when I'm so close to getting a second shot?"

Puck pressed a kiss to her forehead, as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close, "I don't know, babe. Just give her some time. She'll cool off," he murmured.

"But it's so close to Nationals!" She pulled back to look at him.

"Don't get upset about this. Tina's probably been holding that in for a while and just needed to get it out. I'm sure in a day or two she'll realize what she did and it'll all be in the past," Puck commented.

"I hope so. I don't need anymore stress right now," she murmured, relaxing against him. "Thanks, Noah."

Puck smiled, "no problem, babe."

...

Now that Rachel knew, for sure, what song she'd be singing at Nationals, she knew she had a lot to do. Thankfully it was one of several songs she'd worked on for her audition, so Puck knew it and was able to help her and they worked the entire evening after school, him playing the piano and she singing along to the familiar words.

Rachel got to school a little early, the next morning, so she went to the auditorium to use the piano, practicing some scales and some of the lines of the song. When school started, she went about her day and met her boyfriend at her locker for Glee.

"I can't believe we've waited this long to practice our songs for Glee," Rachel commented with a sigh, as they walked to the auditorium.

"Yeah, I'm a little surprised. We've talked about different songs and we know steps, but now we have to put it all together. I procrastinate a lot, but for something like this, we shouldn't have," he agreed.

"I'm trying to tell myself that we managed to pull together two songs for Sectionals our Sophomore year in just an hour, so I'm hoping it will work this time, too," she explained.

...

Arriving at the auditorium, Rachel and Puck found a few others already there and no one was looking forward to practicing Sue's idea. She seemed to think that having the guys running power tools, creating sparks on stage was a 'great' plan to win Nationals, because Kurt was refusing to perform in drag, which is what she's wanted from the start. With his refusal, Sue asked him for ideas and Kurt said he had one and asked for a day to get it together.

...

"So we're heading to my house?" Rachel asked her boyfriend as they walked to her locker at the end of the day.

"Yep, works for me," Puck shrugged, "I made sure not to schedule any pools to clean until after Nationals," he explained.

"Excellent! Because if we can't pull together out numbers, I at least want to be completely prepared for my song. I know that sounds a little selfish, but if I can manage to get Carmen there, then..."

"I know, babe, and it makes sense. You're right. She needs to see you perform again and this is the best way for that to happen," Puck assured her.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded and opened her locker when they reached it, "to be honest, I want to win, but if we don't get our routine down and you're the only one that performs, I'd be cool with that."

"Really?" Rachel gasped in surprise.

Puck nodded, "yeah. You deserve to go to NYADA and if anything, it'll show Carmen what the school's missing if they don't let you in."

Rachel smiled happily and wrapped her arms around him, "thank you, Noah. That really means a lot."

"You're welcome," he returned her hug and kissed her forehead.

...

Even though Rachel was focused on practicing for her solo at Nationals, she also balanced it with spending it with her boyfriend. She appreciated that Puck was willing to spend so much time helping her on the song and he even agreed to play during Nationals; he'd do anything to help her impress Carmen Tibideaux; if she even showed up, and he hoped it would help the club win, too.

...

Wednesday seemed to be a normal day, but just before Glee, all the teens received a text message from Kurt to meet in the guys locker room for Glee. Everyone was confused why, but they followed the message and found Sue, Will and Kurt there, with a video projector set up to show something on a white screen.

"What is all this?" Rachel asked confused, taking a seat next to Puck on one of the benches.

"Kurt has a video to show us," Will explained.

Rachel glanced at Kurt and he shrugged, "I'll explain when everyone is here."

They only had to wait a few more minutes before the rest of the club had arrived and once everyone took their seats, Sue started, "please ignore the stench of mildew and jock strap to focus on the screen. Porcelaina," she said, motioning to Kurt.

Rolling his eyes at the stupid nickname she'd given him, he stood up and looked around, "yesterday, I snuck into a Vocal Adrenaline rehearsal and what I saw is not for the faint of heart," he explained, taking his seat.

The lights went out and a black and white video of Vocal Adrenaline's practice began playing on the screen. As they watched, Sue pointed out some details, "unlike you misfit, ragtag stumble bums, each member of Vocal Adrenaline is in perfect sync."

Will stared at the screen in awe and sighed, "not a stop out of place," he paused and motioned to a move they were doing on the screen, "okay, watch closely guys. It's called the 'Human Centipede'. It's the newest, hardest show choir dance move ever invented... Incredible..."

"Actually, it doesn't really look that hard," Blaine commented.

"And cherry on top of the Vocal Adrenaline Sundae is their secret weapon, Unique. Look at him slash her. Poised. Confident. Pretty as a picture and a booty that won't quit. It's the 'Unique Factor' that gives Vocal Adrenaline the edge," Sue told them, as the video stopped and the lights came back on.

"Isn't Rachel our 'Unique Factor'?" Puck asked, glancing at his girlfriend, who smiled happily at his support.

Sue shook her head, "not even close. I'm not saying that she doesn't deserve a solo, but every show choir in the country has a little girl with a big nose."

"Okay, Sue," Will warned.

Sue looked at Will, "William, high school judges are proven idiots. They love props and Unique is the ultimate prop."

Though Puck was pissed at Sue for what she'd said to Rachel, he looked at Sue, "do you seriously think we need a guy to dress in drag to win?"

Just as Will said 'no', Sue said 'yes. It's the only way', which wasn't surprising; they hardly ever saw eye-to-eye. Puck, after hearing everything, and realizing they were still the underdogs at competition, got an idea and figured he'd try to help out the club somehow.

When everyone began to get up and leave, heading to the auditorium to try to practice, Puck wrapped his arm around Rachel, "you're beautiful, babe. Don't let anyone upset you about your looks, okay?" He whispered softly.

"Thanks, Noah," she smiled, leaning her head against him as they began to walk out of the locker room.

...

"Noah, I wish there was something I could do to repay you for all the help you've been for me with the music. I know there are plenty of other things, as a couple, we could be doing," Rachel admitted, curled up with Puck on one of the Berry's couches, while they took a break from practicing.

"You don't have to," Puck assured her, "I'm enjoying this. We're spending time together. I could see if you wanted to practice on your own without me around and you didn't have 'time' to hang out, but that's not a problem. I'm sure we'll be able to do all those things once we're past Nationals; it on all of our minds right now."

"That is true," she agreed, "and I'm really glad we're able to share all this time together," she added with a smile.

"Me, too," he pulled her closer and kissed her, "maybe we could take a little bit of an extended break in _your room_," he suggested with a wink.

Rachel felt her cheeks flush, "I think," she paused and shifted to stand up, holding out her hand to him, "I think that's a good idea."

...

Rachel surprised herself when she woke up to her alarm; in the last few days she'd been waking up over thirty minutes before. "_Wow! If making love with Noah is going to help me relax so I can actually get some more sleep, I may just have to suggest this more often,_" Rachel thought, smiling as she got up and went on with her usual morning routine.

Leaving a little early, Rachel arrived at McKinley and headed for the auditorium, deciding to get a little practice in before school began, even if it was just working on some notes.

"Sounded pretty good to me," Tina said from nearby, walking over to Rachel, who was sitting at the piano on stage.

Rachel jumped a little, not expecting anyone to be there, especially Tina, "um, I'm singing into the notes, not through them, but I'll get it," she explained.

Tina smirked and leaned against the piano, "it never stops for you, does it?"

"I already choked once this year and I'm not gonna let it happen again, so I'm practicing whenever I can," she replied honestly.

"Have you heard back from Carmen Tibideaux, yet?" Tina wondered.

Rachel bit her lip and shook her head, "no, and I just have to accept the fact that I'm not going to. I've emailed her and called her and there's nothing left that I can do."

"You could go see her. It's what you suggested I do in the body swapping dream I had about us," Tina explained, and when Rachel raised a curious eyebrow, she continued, "I fell in the fountain at the mall the other day and hit my head. I'm okay now, but at the time, I had an odd dream where everyone switched. I was you and you were me and Blaine was Puck and he wanted to have sex with me as you."

The two girls shared a laugh and Rachel smirked, "that's very disturbing. Who else switched? What happened in it?" Rachel asked, now curious about this 'dream' she'd had.

"Everyone switched. Puck was Blaine, Finn was Kurt, Kurt was Finn, Mercedes and Brittany switched, Mike and Joe switched, Rory and Sam, Quinn and Sugar, Artie and Santana; even Mr. Schue and Coach Sylvester switched. It was extremely weird... Anyway, since I was 'Rachel', I was asked to sing a solo in front of the club and I was nervous, but 'Puck' talked me into it and then I got my first standing ovation. Anyway, afterward, you as Tina told me as Rachel 'go see Carmen Tibideaux in person and not take 'no' for an answer'."

"Wow! Okay, the dream seems a little confusing, but the advice I gave myself in your dream was good?"

Tina nodded, "I did some research. Carmen Tibideaux is teaching a Master Class at Oberlin. If we go right now we could still catch her," she explained, "I could drive."

Rachel's eyes widened in shock, "you would do that for me?" She asked shocked and when Tina nodded again, she continued, "why? I mean, all that stuff you said, I mean, you weren't wrong. Look, I know that everyone is important and I'm very sorry if I ever made you feel like a supernumerary."

Tina smiled at her compliment, "everyone has their part to play, right? Maybe this is mine," she shrugged.

"Thank you," Rachel grinned brightly and stood up, hugging Tina, "you do know that next year you'll be the lead female vocalist and that's a lot of pressure, but I'm not worried," Rachel assured her, and when Tina smiled and began to tear up, Rachel jumped in, "oh no, please don't cry. You need to drive. Is your Hyundai gassed up?" She wondered hopeful.

"Yes, it is. I got gas this morning. I also printed out directions. They're in my car," Tina replied, "I had a feeling you'd agree to come."

Rachel stood up and grabbed her phone, "then let's get going!"

...

Tina and Rachel linked arms and made their way out of the auditorium and they almost walked right into Puck when they walked around the corner. "Noah! Hey!" Rachel smiled happily.

"How much coffee did you have this morning, babe?" Puck smirked, leaning down to kiss her as the three stopped in the hallway.

"The same as I usually do. Actually, I'm happy because Tina had a great idea," she said honestly, motioning to Tina, "she suggested going up to Oberlin, where Carmen is teaching a class to confront her in person," she explained.

"That is an awesome idea," Puck nodded, smiling at Tina, "I didn't even think of that."

"Don't feel bad," Rachel hugged him, "but we've gotta go if we want to catch her," she added, pulling away.

"Wait. You're skippin' school? Both of you?" His eyes widened in shock, "and you, too?"

The two girls nodded and Rachel stood up on her tip toes and kissed him, "missing one day of classes now is worth it, if it means I can get into NYADA," she told him truthfully, "and my dads will totally understand."

Puck wiggled his eyebrows at her, "Bad-Girl Berry is a turn on."

Rachel's cheeks flushed a deep shade of red and she nudged him, "Noah. Be good and maybe you'll get some when I get back."

"You can come with us, if you'd like," Tina added, looking at him.

"Tempting, but I need to be here. I figure if I at least show up and _try_ to turn in some homework, another teacher won't try to fail me, or I'll have another class to make up over the summer," he added honestly, "besides, if I saw Carmen, I'd have a few choice words for her and I think it might ruin your chances of getting in, so I think it's best I not go," Puck explained, kissing Rachel's forehead, "go, have fun, be safe and see you when you get back."

"Love you, Noah," Rachel gave him a quick hug and kiss.

As she pulled away, Puck smiled at her, "love you, too, babe."

...

The two and a half hour drive to Oberlin was quite uneventful. There were a lot of country roads and trees, so Rachel was glad she brought some things along to do, including some apartment magazines for places around NYADA she'd gotten in the mail, "apartment hunting?" Tina wondered, when she saw what she was looking at.

Rachel nodded, "yeah. NYADA doesn't have dorms because it's a smaller school, so they have deals with apartment complexes around the school to give students a discount on rent. The plus side is that non-students can live with us, so Noah, Kurt and I can all live together. I asked the student information office to send me some magazines and brochures for the apartments nearby to see what we're looking at for cost," she explained, closing the magazine she'd been looking at.

"That makes sense, to live together I mean. So you and Puck are good?"

"We are," Rachel smiled, "I'm so much more myself with him. We balance each other out, too."

"That's a good kind of relationship," Tina replied, "I'm happy for you. We haven't talked much since you guys got together, but I'm glad you're happy together. You deserve it and so does he. I feel bad he can't graduate with you all, though."

"Me too. I just... I wish he could have a redo on his test, you know? A second chance... Now that I think about it, maybe I could go talk to his teacher," she commented, realizing talking to his teacher in person would be the same as going to see Carmen.

"I don't know. Doosenberry usually doesn't change her mind once it's made up," Tina admitted, "but it's worth a shot."

"It is. I'll talk to Noah when we get back," Rachel confirmed.

The car filled with silence for a moment and a question came to Tina, "do you think we're gonna win Nationals?"

Rachel thought for a moment, "you know, our first Regionals and last year, I had this feeling that we were just gonna win, but this year, nothing. I just really, really, really want to win, though, if not for us, for Mr. Schue," she admitted.

As Tina passed a sign saying that Oberlin was only fifteen miles away, Rachel sighed, "what if we go all this way and Carmen just says 'no'?" Rachel wondered nervously.

"She won't," Tina said, trying to stay positive.

Rachel turned to her, "she might. I don't really have a back-up plan, alright? And I don't want to waste another year of my ingenue eligibility, trying to get into other schools or even re-auditioning for NYADA."

Tina smirked, "you always make it so hard, but you born under a bright gold star; everyone knows it."

"Thank you," Rachel smiled, "Noah has been really supportive and so has Kurt, but it's nice to get it from others, too," she paused, "I think I'm just trying to be a little more realistic. Before my audition, everything I was doing pointed to getting into NYADA and being a star. Now, after my wake-up call with my audition, I realized that anything can happen and I wish I hadn't spent every waking moment of my youth focused on just one thing. I should have had hobbies and things I could be interested in, besides being a star. I'm trying to be positive, but it's so hard. Not every high school Senior with a future plan makes it. Most don't, some do and as much as I don't want to admit it, there's a chance I won't make it and will need to face the facts that I didn't."

"You're going to make it, Rachel," Tina said firmly.

Rachel smiled again at Tina's comment and took a deep breath, shaking her head briefly to focus. She could hear her boyfriend's voice in her mind, telling her to stop being negative and she knew her thoughts were right, "no. I'm not going there yet. Carmen is going to say 'yes'."

"There's the Rachel Berry we all know and love," Tina grinned.

A light blush grew on Rachel's cheeks, "I'm really glad we're doing this together. Thank you, Tina."

"Can you do me one favor?" Tina wondered, glancing at her and when she nodded, she continued, "before you graduate, can we sing together?"

Rachel smiled at her, "I would love that."

...

Though Puck was happy that Rachel was going to catch up with Carmen, he also hoped she'd be there for his 'Glee surprise'. When the first few classes ended that day and it was time for Glee, he dashed to the nearest bathroom and once it'd cleared out he started changing.

Meanwhile, in the choir room, Sue was throwing out another plan for 'props', "since Porcelain refuses to be a team player and dress up like a lady, we're gonna have to up our prop game. I've ordered eighteen little people. One for each of you."

"Wait. Little people?" Will gasped, looking at her.

"Munchkins. I found them online, William. Don't worry. I got a mix of race and ethnicity, so you can keep up with your diversity charade," Sue commented, rolling her eyes.

"Sue, I think maybe we're going a little too far with the props," Will admitted, standing up, "let's just spend some time on choreography for 'Dashboard'."

"Sure, if you want to lose," Sue retorted.

Puck took that moment to walk into the choir room, dressed in a long blue and black dress and a curly blond wig.

"Puck?" Will's eyes widened in shock.

Mercedes groaned, "my eyes are burning."

"Look at those legs!" Sam smirked.

"You can't unsee something like that," Artie murmured, rubbing his forehead.

Puck flipped his hair a little, "please only address me by my stage name, Lola."

"Puckerman, I respect your commitment to winning, but without a doubt, you're the ugliest woman I've ever seen. For a second there, I thought you were Beiste's sister," Sue admitted.

Rolling his eyes, he looked at her and then turned to the others, "it's not about being pretty. It's about someone in here having the balls to do what he has to do to put us over the top."

"Well, you know, if this is gonna work, you're gonna have to shave off all your body hair," Sue told him.

"Enough!" Will snapped, "Sue, look. I really appreciate all the help you've been giving us, but I'm done with all this props madness. All we're doing for the next three hours is learning choreography for Dashboard," he turned to look at Puck, "Puck, go change. You're all gonna be missing your afternoon classes because we need to practice badly," he glanced around and realized that Rachel and Tina were missing, "I get why Tina isn't here, but where's Rachel?"

Puck sighed and pulled the wig off, "she had something to do today," he said, before turning and walking out of the classroom. He knew his 'surprise' wouldn't go over too well, so he wasn't too shocked, but he was a little upset that no one, except Sue, really appreciated that he was even offering to 'take one for the team'. Also, part of him was hoping it would point out how stupid the 'props' idea had been that week and that seemed to work; he was happy to change, so they could get back to their normal practices and focus on what was important and not the unneeded things.

...

A little under three hours after Tina and Rachel left McKinley, they arrived in Oberlin, small town in Northern Ohio, where the college of the same name was located. Even though Rachel wanted to get to see Carmen as soon as they could, the two agreed to stop for lunch. Carmen would be at the school until two, so they still had plenty of time to catch her before she left.

Finding a semi-healthy fast food restaurant, the two purchased a few items and found a place to sit in the restaurant, "do your parents know you were driving up here?" Rachel wondered.

"Yes. I told them a friend of mine and I were going for a campus visit; they think I'm here to check it out for a possible college," Tina admitted, "you know, for applications next year."

Rachel nodded in understanding, "that makes sense. I thought of texting my dads to let them know, but I'm hoping we'll be back around the same time school usually gets out, so they won't wonder where I am when Noah and I don't show up at our usual time. I'd rather tell them in person; especially if our meeting with Carmen doesn't go so well."

"Good idea," Tina agreed, "and I just need to make sure we stop near the admissions or registration office, so I can pick up a few brochures and information; I actually have thought of this school as one I'll apply too. It's in-state, so the tuition will be lower than if I go out of state."

"I completely understand," Rachel admitted.

The two were quiet for a few moments and Tina looked over at Rachel, "so you and Puck are really serious, huh?"

"We are," Rachel smiled, "I honestly didn't think I'd get another boyfriend before I graduated, after the Finn proposal fiasco, but Noah makes me so happy. He encourages me and helps me; Finn hardly ever helped me practice and never even stood up for me. I just wish I hadn't wasted so much time being hung up on Finn. I could have had a wonderful solid relationship with Noah, if I had gotten over my 'crush' on Finn," she sighed.

"Maybe this was how it was supposed to happen?" Tina offered, "maybe you both needed to have time to get some more relationship experience, before you got together again."

Rachel nodded, "I'd like to think that's the reason. I also hope because of that, our relationship lasts a lot longer."

"I hope it does, too. Especially since you two are planning to move in together in New York," she replied, "do you think the 'M' word is possible?"

"The 'M' word?" Rachel thought for a moment, "oh! Marriage?" When Tina nodded, Rachel continued, "I don't know. It's possible. We both love each other and will be living together, but we don't need to rush into marriage. If we did do something like that, we'd probably wait until I graduated college. I'm not saying I couldn't get married while attending, but it might cause some issues with the school. I don't know."

"Probably after what happened a few months ago with Finn, that's the last thing on your mind, too. Sorry for bringing it up," Tina blushed.

"Don't be," Rachel assured her, "it's alright. In fact, it's kind of nice to talk relationships with someone. Kurt and I have really only been talking about NYADA and even though Quinn and I have gotten closer, we don't talk too much, so it's a nice change. It's also difficult to talk about this with Noah," she told her, "I'm afraid if I brought it up, even hypothetically, he might freak out."

"That makes sense, because I'm the same way with Mike. We've briefly talked about what will happen when he graduates, but like a future together somewhere? We haven't gotten that far. Sure, we'd love to be together, but I'm," she paused and sighed, "he's leaving Lima to go to school and I'm stuck here for another year and even then, if he gets into a school that I can't get into, then it's going to be even harder to stay together."

"It will be, but I'm sure, like with Noah and I, if you guys love each other, you'll stay together and figure out how to make it work. I can tell Mike loves you and I'm sure you love him," Rachel told her.

Tina sighed, biting her lip, "he's pretty upset with me; we haven't talked since I walked out of Glee on Monday."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Rachel reached over and patted her hand, "I only heard him say he was disappointed in you. What else did he say?"

"That I was being selfish. I don't know, maybe I was, but I just was fed up," she murmured.

"I get it. We've all had stressful and emotional weeks. Like I said earlier, you weren't wrong, but I do wish we could have talked one-on-one about it. Maybe we could have come to an agreement or something. I know, sometimes, I'm not easy to talk to, but if you had asked me to share a solo or let you have one, I wouldn't have said 'no'. You have a beautiful voice and I do wish I could have heard it more often," Rachel told her honestly.

Tina smiled, "really?"

"Really," Rachel returned her smile and noticed the clock on the wall, "oh wow! It's noon! We better get going. We have just enough time to catch Carmen and get that stuff you needed before we have to leave. We need to be back as close to three as possible."

...

Quickly gathering up their trash and disposing of it, the two returned to Tina's car and followed the directions to the parking lot nearest to the auditorium that Carmen would be in. Walking up the cement pathway to the doors, Rachel felt butterflies building as she tried to figure out what to say to her and as soon as they walked in the doors, they could hear a guy singing and followed the sound until they were walking down one of the aisles between seats.

Carmen was listening to a student singing and once she gave him some critique, he walked off stage and Carmen stood up, so Rachel rushed up to catch her attention. "Madam Tibideaux, hello. I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's me, Rachel Berry," Rachel started and the older woman groaned, as Rachel continued, "I'm sorry, I realize that I've been a little persistent, but I'm just..."

"I am a very busy woman," Carmen started, cutting her off, "Every moment I spend deleting yet another one of your voicemails about lost hopes and dreams takes time away from another student. What makes you think you are entitled to anymore attention than the other hundreds of people I see with the same hopes and dreams?"

Rachel's eyes widened, "no, I'm so sorry. I don't mean to take time away from anyone."

"But you do and I'm tired of it," Carmen said firmly.

Realizing that Rachel was not going to get through to her, Tina stepped up, "Ms. Tibideaux, I know exactly how you feel. Rachel Berry is a pain in the ass. What she wants, she gets and I've spent a lot of time resenting her for it," she paused and glanced at Rachel, seeing a brief hurt look on her face, but she continued on, "but the fact is, she gets it because she's exceptional. Not just the voice, which is sick, but the focus, the drive. How often do you come across the real deal?"

Carmen scoffed at Tina's question, "the real deal that couldn't remember the words to the song?"

"Which is as rare as a Bigfoot sighting. She had an off day and and that decides her entire future?" Tina countered, trying to help Rachel fight for a second chance.

"Ms. Tibideaux, I realize that I'm asking you to take me in to special consideration, but let me ask you. You've had an amazing career. Did you get there by playing it safe?" Rachel asked, eyeing the woman, "please... We're performing our Nationals in Chicago and we saw that you're gonna be singing there at the Lyric Opera and before you close the door, I just... I need you to hear me sing, I have to. There's nothing that I'm as good at or as passionate about or that brings me that much joy and I think that that sets me apart,."

"And I think it's time for you and your friend to go," Carmen finished, motioning to the exit.

"Okay, but I just want you to know that I'll see you again next year and every year after that until I get in," Rachel said honestly. Glancing at Tina, she then returned her gaze to Carmen, "didn't I read somewhere that you auditioned for Julliard four times?" She finished, before turning on her heel and walking towards the exit, Tina following her.

...

Walking out of Oberlin's auditorium, Rachel was quiet and Tina felt horrible, "I'm sorry, Rachel. I really thought that would go differently."

Rachel shook her head, "no, it's okay. Don't feel bad. You helped me out by bringing me here and now I know that I have done everything I can. I just hope she takes everything I've said, along with what you told her, into consideration and comes to see us at Nationals."

"About what I said... I'm sorry it came out so harsh at first, but it wasn't a complete lie," Tina admitted nervously, "I have been upset with you in the past because of how often you get a solo or the lead in something, but that was before I really understood everything. Now I get it and I'm not upset anymore," she told her, biting her lip.

"It's alright. I accept your apology. You've been holding that in for a long time and needed to say it, I get it," Rachel assured her, smiling lightly.

Tina nodded in relief and unlocked the doors of her car and the two slid in, silently thinking for a moment, "I guess I'll drive over to the information center and get what I wanted and then we can go."

Even though Rachel was trying to stay hopeful that Carmen would show up at Nationals, all she wanted to do was get home to her boyfriend and forget she even met with Carmen, so she nodded, "okay, sounds good to me."

...

Having Rachel and Tina missing from Glee really put a crimp in practice, but the Glee club pushed through and tried to learn everything they could. All the teens missed their afternoon classes, but Will let them stop that day, just before school got out and as Puck headed for his locker to get his bag, three of the mullet-haired hockey players, including Rick 'The Stick' Nelson, walked up to him.

"Darkest day in Ohio since Earnest Byner. Boy how the mighty have truly fallen, huh?" Rick smirked, teasing Puck, "take a good look at him, boys. This empty useless shell of a man you see before you, used to be _the_ Noah Puckerman, the guy they named the dumpster out by the smoking lounge after, because he dumped more dweebs in it than any ten dudes combined."

Puck sighed and rolled his eyes, putting his backpack over his shoulder, "keep rockin' that mullet, Ricky. Maybe in a few years, it'll come back in style," he retorted, closing his locker and trying to walk away, but Rick stopped him.

"And today, he finally succumbed to the toxic fumes of Glee Club and came to school wearing a frickin' dress," Rick laughed.

"_Oh great! Someone actually saw me? Fuck!_" Puck thought, looking at the hockey player, "are you lookin' to pick a fight? 'Cause there's three of you and one of me, so you're gonna need about two more guys to make it a fair fight," Puck admitted, "you're a frickin' loser," he added, trying to walk away, but Rick stopped him again.

"Oh, I'm a loser? Did I tell you I got into Ohio State? Yeah, I'm gonna be playing hockey there. What's your plan after graduation? Oh, that's right, you aren't graduating," Rick commented with a grin, as Puck tossed his backpack to the floor by his locker, "face it, Puck. As soon as your freaky girlfriend graduates and she sees what a loser you really are, she'll even dump your sorry ass. Then you'll be the guy we all used to make fun of when we were Freshmen. The one who used to hang out in front of 7-11 pickin' up on high school girls after graduating and in two months you'll be buying my little brother beer and just beggin' him to take you to a party," Rick leaned in a little closer, "you're a Lima Loser."

Puck's anger flared and he pushed Rick against the lockers, "I'm gonna rip that mullet off your head!" He hissed, punching his hand against the metal.

The other two hockey players pulled Puck off him and Rick shook his head, "you wanna fight? Fine! But not here. Out by your dumpster. I won't have any trouble, because unlike you, I've got a lot to lose."

As Rick walked away, Puck took a deep breath and found his thoughts racing, "_that fucking asshole! I'm not a loser! I know I shouldn't be fighting him, but if I don't stand up to him, no one will and someone's got to put that loser in his place,_" he thought, moving to grab his backpack. He reopened his locker and stuffed his bag inside, adding his phone a few things from his pockets to it, so they didn't get lost or broken during the fight. Getting a glimpse of a picture of him and Rachel together that was taped to his locker door, he sighed, "_I know what you're gonna say, babe. Fighting isn't the answer, but if the school's bad ass doesn't stand up to him, who will? I'm not going to let him win. He's bullied the club for too long; I've had it. It's time to toss that mullet back into the decade it belongs._"

...

"_It's a good thing Rachel isn't here to talk me out of this,_" Puck thought, making his way around to the side of the school where 'his' dumpster was located. There was already a small group of students gathered nearby, most of them underclassmen, but some were friends of Rick's or the hockey team's and Puck found a place to stand near the familiar dumpster, waiting for Rick to show up.

After a few moments, Rick, followed by several of the hockey players, all dressed in their matching uniform shirts arrived and Rick walked right up to him.

"Last chance to walk away with whatever teeth you have left, Stick Head," Puck offered.

"Please," Rick scoffed, "I just hope you brought a change of clothes, 'cause you're going dumpster diving. But hey, maybe while you're in there, you'll find your garbage father. How's he doing, by the way? You know, I tried his microbrew. It sucked."

Puck's blood boiled and even though he hated his father, he also hated anyone who talked bad about him. Letting his emotions take over, he pulled his fist back and threw a heavy punch at Rick, connecting directly with his jaw.

Rick shook off the punch in a few seconds, "game on!" He snapped, lunging forward until he was pushing Puck against the large green metal dumpster.

Pushing him off, Puck punched Rick again in the face, at the same time as Rick hits his stomach with his fist. Puck leaned over a little and grabbed Rick's arm and Rick pushed them back against the dumpster. With a little struggle, the two ended up falling to the ground, Puck on top of Rick, so he took the opportunity to punch the hockey player's ribs a few times, until Rick was able to push him off. Puck landed against the dumpster and Rick jumped at him, punching him several times in the jaw, before Puck was able to push him off.

The two finally managed to get to their feet and Rick laughed, "let's just make this easy. Hop in there yourself," he suggested, motioning to the green dumpster.

Puck throws another punch at him, but Rick is able to block himself, returning a punch to Puck with enough force to throw him back against the dumpster, knocking the wind out of him. Falling back on the ground, two hockey players rushed forward and grabbed Puck's arms and legs, throwing him into the dumpster on top of several large black bags of garbage.

All during this fight, the teens gathered around were chanting and cheering them on and when Puck was thrown inside, the students began to clap, "the rein of Noah Puckerman is over! Your winner," Rick points to himself, "and still a loser," Rick motions inside the garbage bin to Puck, and the whole crowd and Rick began changing 'loser'.

"_I'm not a loser!_" Puck thought, taking a few deep breaths and gathered the strength to climb out, landing on his feet.

A few of the hockey players pointed out that Puck was out of the garbage and rick turned around, pushing up his sleeves, "ah, you want some more there, Nancy?"

Puck glared at Rick and just as he lifted his fist and started to walk forward to throw another punch, Coach Beiste rushed in, grabbing him, "knock it off!" She exclaimed, "get over here!" She looked at Puck, pushing him away from all the students. "The shows over! Everybody go home!" Shannon yelled, looking at the group standing around. The teens quickly began to thin out, but Rick remained, so she glared at him, "get out of here!" Rick's eyes widened and he dashed off and the older woman turned to Puck, grabbing him by his shirt, "except for you. Come on!" She snapped, guiding him towards the doors into the school.

...

Rachel and Tina's drive back to Lima was uneventful and they arrived at McKinley just after three, and as Tina pulled into one of the side entrances, the two happened to see a large group of students gathered around the dumpsters. "Oh no!" Rachel gasped, easily able to see the familiar mohawk and mullet, "let me out here," she begged Tina, noticing Coach Beiste was just starting to break up what looked like a fight.

As the teens began to fan out, Tina came to a stop on the street and Rachel hesitated, "uh, thanks for the..."

"Go! We can talk tomorrow," Tina assured her, knowing she was in a hurry to go catch up with her boyfriend.

Rachel nodded her thanks and got out, closing the door behind her and following the tracks of Shannon and Puck as they headed inside. Though she saw them ahead of her, she decided not to call out to her boyfriend, because she wasn't sure if he'd want to see her, or if Coach Beiste would allow them to talk. As they walked into the locker room, she waited outside the door, but could still hear what was being said.

"A fight? What the hell are you thinking?" Beiste exclaimed, "you could get expelled for this!"

Puck shrugged, "it doesn't matter. I'm flunking out," he replied, grabbing a towel nearby and wiped the blood off his elbow.

"You've got a record! You could get arrested for assault," she explained.

"I don't care!"

"You damn well should care!" She snapped.

Puck threw the towel in his hand into the big basket and pushed it away, "why? Don't you get it? I'm nothing! I'm the school joke! A failure! You don't know what it's like to be worthless, where nothing you do matters! The only time I feel like I'm important is when I'm with Rachel and she doesn't deserve me! I'm a Lima Loser and she deserves so much more than that! I love her so much and I'm terrified she'll leave me and she's the best thing that's ever happened to me!" He took a deep breath, "and no one else really, truly appreciates me or anything I do! Shit! I wore I dress to Glee today just to 'take one for the team' and no one said 'thank you'! You know how many football games or concerts my mom's been to in the last four years? None, not one! My dad's been AWOL since I was ten years old, which is fine, because all he ever did was tell me I was garbage and he must be really proud of himself, because that's exactly how I turned out!" He finally snapped, the dam breaking and all the emotions that had been building up over the past few weeks finally spilling out, tears falling from his eyes, "I'm sorry," he murmured, "I'm sorry."

What Puck said hit Shannon like a ton of bricks and seeing him cry made her realize she knew exactly how he felt, so she stepped forward and wrapped him up in a friendly hug, "it's okay," she assured him, "you know, you and me, we're bad asses. Nobody thinks anything hurts us, but it does," she said honestly, tears falling from her own eyes, "I get it, Noah. I do."

Having listened to everything, Rachel began to get emotional and had a lot to say, so she didn't want to stand outside any longer. Taking a deep breath, she moved into the locker room, "Noah?"

The door opening startled them and when Puck saw Rachel walk in, he pulled away from Shannon and looked at her, "Rachel... what are you... how much..."

"Noah Aaron Puckerman, you are _not_ worthless!" She snapped, her foot stomping on the floor as she fought to keep her tears at bay for the moment, "you're _not_ a 'Lima Loser' and you never will be! You're going to graduate and _we're_ going to New York. We're in this together and I'm so happy to be with you," she paused, stepping a few feet closer as Shannon stepped aside, "you're kind, honest, helpful, loving, caring, fun, and handsome. You make me feel special and that's the man I've fallen in love with; you're who I want to have in my life. I'm here for you, I care about you and I hate to see you upset like this," she finished, closing the distance between them and resting a hand on his shoulder, hating to see a cut under his eye from a fight.

Puck reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes and was silent for a long moment, "I'm sorry... I know that, I just... A lot's gone on over the past few weeks and then Rick was saying shit earlier about you seeing what a loser I really was when you graduate and I don't and I guess everything just came out and I lost it."

"We've been through this before. Maybe you won't get your diploma with the rest of us, but you'll still get it. I'm gonna help you any way I can, just like you've been helping me all this time. I want to return the favor," she smiled at him, "I'm not giving up on you _or_ us. I promise. Don't let anyone make you think otherwise, okay? And if you ever want to talk, about anything, you know you can talk to me, right?"

"Okay and yeah, I know," he returned her smile and relaxed a little, "I'm so lucky to have you in my life. I don't deserve you, but I'm really glad we're together."

"I am, too," she nodded, "and Noah, you deserve to be happy, too."

"Thanks. I love you babe," he paused, "so, how did your trip go?"

Rachel shook her head, "let's not talk about that right now. We should get you cleaned up," she glanced at Shannon, who was standing a few feet away, "can we go or are you going to report him?"

"No, I'm not, as long as you promise that you won't let it happen again, Noah," she warned.

Puck nodded at her, "no more fights, I promise."

Shannon smiled, "good, then go on, you two."

...

Rachel guided her boyfriend out of the locker room and over to the nearest bathroom, glad it was after school and as they moved inside, she immediately grabbed a few paper towels and soaked them with water, "Noah, what happened?" She asked reaching up and gently dabbing the cool material against his cut.

"Rick was talking shit and we decided to fight. He got a lucky punch in that threw me against the dumpsters and I fell backward. They threw me in the dumpster and then I climbed out. Coach stopped me before I punched him again," he explained, wincing at what she was doing.

"Sorry. We should have stayed in the locker room. I'm sure Coach Beiste has a first aid kit. If not, we should get you back to my house, or to your mom," Rachel replied, "I'm sorry he was saying things to you, Noah. I wish I had been here."

"He still would have said them and would probably have said things to you, too, which would have pissed me off even more," he admitted, slipping his arms around her waist. "I need a shower," he glanced at his watch and saw what time it was, "let me run home. I'll shower and change and then I'll come over to your place. I wanna get out of the house before mom and my sister get home, because mom will be fussing over me if she sees me with a cut on my face," he smirked, "just like you are," he stilled her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm, "after I clean up, I'll put some antiseptic on it," he promised.

Rachel sighed, but nodded, "alright. But don't take too long," she requested, "though it will give me time to tell my dads that Tina and I went on a road trip today," she said as an afterthought.

"How did it go?" He asked again, since she never answered him the first time.

"Not as good as I had hoped it might, but I was able to say what I wanted. Now all I can do is hope that she comes to see us at Nationals, which means we need to practice as much as we can before we go," she explained.

Puck lifted her chin gently so she was looking at him, "I'll take a quick shower and be over shortly," he smiled, "and you're a star, babe. You're gonna get into NYADA."

"Thanks, Noah," she leaned up and kissed him carefully, "can I ask you something?"

"Anything," he nodded.

"Why is it that you're confident I'll get in, yet you're so, um, negative about your situation?" She wondered softly.

He was silent for a long moment, "I don't know, honestly. I think it's because I've never had the encouragement to pursue things, so I'm not used to reaching goals. As for being confident, I'm nervous for you, too, but I'm staying positive, because I know you can make it and I want to be your supportive boyfriend and friend," he explained, "and, I could ask you the same thing."

"I know... I guess it's easier to give advice than it is to receive it," she replied, kissing him once more, "should we go?"

"Yeah," he nodded, taking her hand in his, "I have to get my things."

Rachel nodded and took a moment to relax before she squeezed his hand and let him guide her out of the bathroom, "I need to get my things, too."

...

Rachel's dads were definitely unhappy with her impromptu trip to see Carmen, but they understood she needed to do what she could to try to convince the woman to give her a second chance. The two men relaxed, once Rachel assured them nothing 'bad' happened and she promised she'd never do something like that again; at least without them knowing.

Her dads were confident, just like Noah, that Carmen would show up at Nationals, which would get her into NYADA. Rachel was still a little skeptical, but tried to remain positive and put her focus on practice.

When Puck arrived at the Berry's, just before dinner, he, along with Rachel and her dads sat down to eat. The dads were concerned about the bruising on Puck's cheek from the fight Rachel had told them about, but Puck assured him he was alright. After dinner, Rachel and Puck jumped back into their usual routine, practicing her song for Nationals and spending time together. She also made him explain what he meant about wearing a dress to Glee and he explained what he'd done. She was shocked he'd offered to do that, but was also happy to see him trying to help out the club.

...

After breaking up the fight at school, Shannon Beiste spent several hours thinking about her life. It finally occurred to her that she needed to stand up for herself and truly leave her husband, because he'd never change and she wasn't going to put herself through the pain anymore.

Driving home, she walked inside and found Cooter sitting at their small dinning table, the broken napkin holder taped back together sitting in the middle. Two pizzas were waiting for them and no matter what he said or did, she was done.

"Hey, baby. Got us a couple of pies. Hawaiian, your favorite," Cooter started, and Shannon just glared at him. He knew she was upset, so he went on, "I'm sorry, Shannon. You know how sorry I am. There's this guy from Michigan that's just been poaching every kid I took a sniff of and everyone's on my ass and if I'm bein' totally honest, I'm always feeling like I'm disappointing you and," he paused, shaking off the words, "it doesn't matter, you know why? 'Cause I know I can't lose my cool anymore, and I won't, I promise," he said and when she continued to stand there silently, he tried again, "oh, come on, baby, sit down. We're celebratin'. You remember that bear of a lineman I told you I was hot on from Newton South? Got him to sign on the dotted line... Come on, baby. You've got my word," he said and when Shannon stepped closer to the table and placed a pocket knife on the table, he stared at it, "what? Are you gonna stab me?"

Shannon shook her head, knowing the knife was just a prop from the West Side Story musical the school had done earlier that year, "not with that one; it's fake... Maybe the big one in the kitchen, the one I've been sleeping with at night under my pillow," she explained.

Cooter sighed, "oh God. God, baby, I'm so sorry. How'd we let it get so out of hand?"

"I'm out," Shannon took a deep breath and begged herself to hold it together, "I got shame about what happened between us, but I leave that here with my ring and with you."

"Oh please, don't leave me, okay? You can't hate me anymore than I already hate myself," he begged.

"I don't hate you! That's the awful part of it; I love you!" Shannon exclaimed, stepping forward again, "but what does that say about what I think of me?" She asked him, fumbling with her hands to pull her ring off and then tossed it on the table.

Anger flared in Cooter and he pushed everything off the table and stood up to face her, "what are you gonna do, huh? Just walk out on me? Who's gonna love you the way I loved you, Shannon? Who's gonna love you now?"

Shannon just glared at him, then turned, grabbed her keys and said, "me," she finished before walking out the door.

...

The following morning was hectic for everyone. Will had gotten the students excused from classes that day, because by evening, they would be leaving to drive to Nationals in Chicago.

It was a little after eight and Rachel and Puck were planning to practice in the auditorium, while the 'costume committee' for Glee used the choir room to finish up the girls' dresses. Tina needed a few more measurements for Rachel's dress, so Puck agreed to meet her on the stage. While he waited, with everything that had gone on and the fight the day before with Rick, a song came to him and he picked up the guitar and took a seat on the edge of the stage and began to play 'Mean' by Taylor Swift.

The song is sung from the point of view of someone who is bullied, singing to the person who is bullying them. It talks about how even though they're picking on them now, one day the roles will be reversed and the bully will be the loser, while the singer will be 'living in a big ole city' and more popular or famous, so the bully can't hurt them anymore.

What Puck was shocked at was to find Coach Beiste joining him to sing the song, taking a seat on the stairs next to him. The sang the chorus together and then she sang the next verse, before Puck got the idea to stand up and wander around the stage as they continued. Shannon followed him and as they finished the song, he moved to put the guitar back in the case.

"So why you in here, singin' all by your lonesome?" She asked curiously.

"Just waitin' for Rachel to finish up dress fittings for Nationals. We're gonna practice some more because we gotta win at something," he explained with a shrug.

"Well, you may not know it, but you already have," she told him with a smile and when he looked at her confused, she continued, "I talked to Mrs. Doosenberry. She's gonna let you have another go at that test."

"What?" His eyes widened in shock, "why? She hates me."

Shannon shook her head, "no, she hates your attitude, but I told her how you wiggled into a skirt for the good of your team."

"I don't get it. What does that have to do with anything?" Puck wondered.

Rachel walked onto the stage from the curtain, so Puck didn't see her, but Shannon did, but she went on to talk to Puck, "when you did that, you showed that you cared about something; something way bigger than just you. That's all she ever wanted from you. That's all any of us teachers ever wanted, so you're gonna retake the exam next week and Rachel and I are gonna help you through it," she said, and Rachel nodded at her with a smile.

"I get why Rachel would help me, but why would you do that?" He asked, happy to hear he had a second change at the test.

"Because, Noah, you will never know how much you've helped me," she admitted, deciding not to tell him exactly what that meant, "you are loved, Punkin, by Rachel and others. You are not alone, either."

Puck smiled at her, "thank you, Coach, for everything," he said, "I honestly don't know what to say," he admitted nervously.

"All you need to say is that you want to graduate," she replied.

A blush grew on his cheeks and he nodded, noticing Rachel walk up to them, "I want to graduate," he said, slipping his arm around her shoulders, "I've got plans after graduate."

Rachel smiled, "then Coach Beiste and I will help you pass."

...

After the rough week for Tina, she'd had her wake-up call and it was time to pass everything on to Sugar, Joe and Rory, the three others who were helping her with costumes. Sugar didn't feel it was fair that they were stuck with the costumes, while everyone else got to practice or do whatever they wanted. Joe added Quinn told them it was because they were the new members and Tina said if they worked on the costumes and went along with the group, one day they'd get their chance to be on top, but they had to work to get it. It was something she'd learned that week and now it was time for them to figure it out, too.

...

"Hey, Stick Head!" Puck called out, seeing Rick and two of his hockey buddies in the hallway.

"Ah, Puckerman, here for another round?" Rick wondered, walking over to him.

"You could say that," Puck smirked, "I got a proposition for you."

"For me? And just what the hell is it?" Rick laughed.

"The Glee Club and I are leaving in a few hours to go to Chicago for our Nationals competition and we're gonna win," Puck started.

"Yeah right! You guys are nothing but a bunch of losers," Rick replied.

"You wanna put some money where your mouth is?" Puck pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and held it up, "there's four more where this came from."

Rick eyed him for a moment, "you wanna bet me that your dork club is gonna out dork all the other dork clubs in the country?" He laughed, eyeing Puck.

"Yep! Five-hundred bucks," Puck nodded seriously.

"You are so on!" Rick grinned, holding out his hand and Puck shook it, "this is going to be the easiest five-hundred bucks, ever!"

...

Sue and Will were in her office going over the set list, trying to figure out what order to put their songs in when Shannon walked in with a suitcase in her hand.

"Hey, you going somewhere, Shannon?" Will wondered.

"I'd like to be a chaperone for Nationals. I'll pay my own way and I can sleep on the bus," she explained.

"You don't have to sleep on the bus. I'm sure we can make room," Will replied, glancing at Sue.

"I booked an executive maternity suite. Sharing it wouldn't be fair to the baby," Sue commented.

Will rolled his eyes and looked at Shannon, "you can bunk with me and Emma."

"So you packed a bag on the off chance you'd be coming to Chicago?" Sue asked curiously.

Shannon took a deep breath, "I left him."

Sue stood up and without hesitation, walked over and wrapped her arms around the other woman, hugging her tightly in support.

Will smiled, "welcome aboard, Shannon."

...

As the school day ended, the teens were beginning to gather their belongings and collect homework items for their weekend, since they were leaving in a few short hours. Puck had his geography book and work in his bag, knowing any free time he, Rachel and Shannon would have that weekend would be spent cramming for his test and Rachel was getting a few things to do, "you know, if it wasn't for Tina, I would never have gotten to see Carmen Tibideaux."

Puck nodded, "yeah, I get ya. I feel bad I didn't think about going to see her, but I guess that's because I didn't know she was still in the state."

"It's okay. After this week, I think it was good for Tina and I to do this; we got a chance to talk and work out our issues," Rachel explained, closing her locker and turning to him, "alright, there is no other option, which is to exceed all expectations. We have to win at Nationals. There's no alternative."

"We will, babe, relax," he kissed her forehead, "you really are our Unique Factor. I don't care what anyone says. You're gonna blow the judges away and we're gonna win," he said, staying positive.

Rachel turned a little to see down the hallway, where Mercedes, Kurt, Brittany and Artie were, listening to Sam make an impression of a movie character, "I don't know. I think we all are. I mean, in a sea full of kids who are just desperately clinging to their own kind, we're different. We took the time to get to know each other and reach out and accept one another. That's our Unique Factor and that's what I love about us," she explained, leaning back against her boyfriend's chest.

Taking what she said, Puck nodded, "yeah, I get it. You're right, babe. We all are."

...

The couple walked over to the choir room, where they'd left their overnight bags that morning and some of their friends and fellow Glee members were there, getting their things and everyone was slowly starting to take loads out to the bus. It wasn't long before all their belongings were packed on the bus and the teens were starting to find were they wanted to sit for the four and a half hour drive to Chicago.

"I'll be back," Rachel admitted, getting up and dashing off the bus.

"Where's Rachel going?" Tina asked.

Puck shrugged, "I don't know."

"I'll go see," she replied, following the girl.

Tina followed Rachel into the school and to the auditorium where she watched from the side of the stage while Rachel began singing 'What A Feeling' a song on the Flashdance soundtrack. Rachel saw Tina and motioned for her to join her, so Tina skipped out and sang the next verse. The two began dancing around on the stage and Rachel motioned to the risers. Tina was confused, but she went up to the top of them and bowed while they sang and Rachel clapped. That moment, in a way, was Rachel passing her position in the Glee Club off to Tina, who would be a Senior in the next school year.

As the girls finished their song, Tina smiled happily at Rachel, "that was amazing! I wish we had sung more together during Glee."

Rachel nodded, "me too, but just because I'm graduating doesn't mean we can't keep in touch and maybe sing together in the future," she assured her.

Tina nodded, "that sounds awesome!"

Taking a deep breath, Rachel nodded in agreement and looked around at the stage, "this could be it, Tina. The next time we're on this stage, we could be National Champions."

"I hope we are," Tina admitted, slipping her arm around Rachel's shoulders, "come on. I think everyone's ready to go, so they're waiting for us."

"Oh, alright," Rachel nodded and they began walking towards the exit and soon stepped outside.

Once the girls walked onto the bus and had taken their seats, Will stood up and looked at them as Sue closed the door, "last call. Do you all have everything?" He asked and when the teens nodded, he grinned, "alright, let's go to Nationals!"

...

**Story notes:**

**Lyrics mentioned**

"I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz, as sung by Lea Michele.

**Brief scene from '3x21 - Nationals'**

For those of you who haven't watched season 3, you won't know this, but for those who have you may recognized the Rick line where he's talking about the 'dork club'. In the show, Nationals, Finn tells Rachel about his bet with Rick; he bet Rick $500 that the club would win at Nationals. That scene is the idea for the Puck scene in this chapter. I decided to have the scene in this chapter, instead of doing a flashback in the next episode's chapter.

**Oberlin school**

I had to look it up, but there's a town in Northern Ohio, kinda between Sandusky and Cleveland called 'Oberlin' and there's a school there called 'Oberlin College and Conservatory' ( new . oberlin . Edu ). They have music programs there.

...

A/N4: Another episode done; hope you all enjoyed! I'm so sorry it's been a while since my last update. I've been way off my game the last few months. My summer sucked. I had my gallbladder removed in June and though I did heal well, my body needed time to recover and get used to the change. Now I'm dealing with other stomach problems and my dad just got home from having spent 6 says in the hospital, so I've been a stressed and emotional wreck the past week or so. Things are finally leveling out and I was able to finish this. My original plan was to have this story (ending with '3x22 - Goodbye'), finished by the time the new season started today, September 13th, but with my summer the way it's been, I changed it to having at least an update done before then. I just finished this, this afternoon and edited it, so I'm close. Please review and let me know what you think! Not sure when the next one will be up, but I'll try to get one out soon. Thank you all for the support and friendship you've given me with my stories and health issues. It really means a lot and I promise, I'm sticking around. I'm a Puckleberry fan forever! I'm not going anywhere... You can catch me on Tumblr and Twitter as EJ8302, if you wanna keep up with me on a more regular basis and if you ever wanna chat or ask questions, feel free to message me. I'll get back to you as soon as I can... To those who have sent reviews - thank you. I read them all and they mean so much to me. I try to reply to them all. I know I've gotten behind and I'm working on getting to them, so I hope to respond soon... Again, thank you all for sticking with me. It means so much!

...


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